Voiceover script timer
Paste a script to get the word count, character count and how long it takes to read at 130, 150 or 170 words per minute.
Estimated duration at 150 wpm
0:00
- Words
- 0
- Characters
- 0 (0 without spaces)
- Sentences
- 0
- Paragraphs
- 0
Fits in a 60-second Short?
Paste a script to check. At 150 wpm, 60 seconds is about 150 words.
At every pace
| 130 wpm | 0:00 |
| 150 wpm | 0:00 |
| 170 wpm | 0:00 |
Counted in this tab. The script is not sent anywhere.
How it works
Words are counted as whitespace-separated tokens that contain at least one letter or digit, so a lone dash or an em-dash between words is not a word, but "2024" and "e-mail" each count as one.
Characters are counted two ways: including spaces (what most text-to-speech services bill on) and excluding them.
Duration is words divided by the pace you pick:
- 130 wpm is a slow, deliberate read. Use it for tutorials where the viewer is following along on screen.
- 150 wpm is average narration. If you are not sure, use this.
- 170 wpm is a fast read. Typical for Shorts, ads and anything cut to a beat.
Separate paragraphs with a blank line and you get a per-paragraph table with the running total, so you can see which paragraph crosses the 60-second mark. The Short indicator is simply "is the total at this pace at or under 60 seconds"; it turns amber above 55 seconds because you will want a few seconds for a hook card or an end screen.
When to use it
Before you record or generate a voiceover, not after.
- Trimming a Short or Reel to 60 seconds, or a 30-second ad read.
- Estimating text-to-speech cost: services such as ElevenLabs charge per character, and this shows the exact count.
- Checking that a tutorial script leaves room for pauses while something loads on screen.
- Splitting a long script into chapters of roughly equal length.
The estimate assumes continuous speech. Add time for pauses, on-screen demos and anything you will ad-lib.
Questions
- How accurate is the estimate?
- Within about 10 percent for a straight read. Real delivery varies with pauses, numbers, names and how much you emphasise. Record one paragraph, time it, and pick the pace that matches.
- How are numbers, URLs and abbreviations counted?
- Each whitespace-separated token is one word, so "2,500" and "example.com" count as one word each even though they take longer to say. If your script has many, lean towards the slower pace.
- Which character count do TTS services use?
- Usually the total including spaces and punctuation. That is the first number shown. The without-spaces figure is there for platforms that quote limits that way.
- Why does the Short check say "tight" when I am under 60 seconds?
- Between 55 and 60 seconds there is no room for a title card, a pause, or an end screen. It still fits; it is a warning, not a failure.
- Is my script saved or sent anywhere?
- No. Everything is computed in your browser and nothing is stored. Reloading the page clears it.
Last tested: