📝 Script Word Count to Runtime Calculator

Words divided by pace

One division, then the decimal is split into minutes and seconds:

minutes = word count ÷ words per minute
seconds = the decimal part × 60

Fifteen hundred words at the default 150 wpm is exactly 10m 0s. The same script read briskly at 190 wpm runs 7m 54s; slowed to 130 wpm it stretches to 11m 32s. That is a 46% spread from one dropdown, which makes the pace setting the input worth getting right - the word count is the part you already know.

Turning a target runtime into a word count

Run the division backwards when you are writing to length: multiply the minutes you want by your pace. A ten-minute video at 150 wpm needs about 1,500 words, and a 60-second intro needs 150.

• Read a page aloud and time it before trusting a preset. Most people land between 140 and 160 wpm on camera, but a fast talker at 185 wpm finishes a 20-minute script nearly four minutes early.
• The estimate covers narration only. Pauses for emphasis, b-roll, demonstrations, music beds and laughter are all extra, and on an unscripted show they can add half again.
• Numbers and names cost more than a word each. A script full of "$1,483,000" and long product names reads slower than the count suggests.

Frequently asked questions