# Words to minutes calculator

> Paste your speech or script to see how many minutes it takes to say out loud. Time yourself reading a paragraph to use your own pace. Free.

Paste your speech or script to see how long it takes to say out loud. Time yourself reading a short passage to use your own pace.

## Find your own pace

Press start, read this passage out loud the way you'd say it on camera, then press Done.

Most people think they talk slowly until they hear themselves back. On camera, nerves push the pace up, and a script that felt short on paper suddenly runs long. The fix is simple. Read a few lines out loud, time it, and plan around the speed you really speak. Leave room to breathe at the end of each idea. Your listeners need a moment to catch up, and a short pause makes you sound calm and sure of what you're saying.

## How long is a speech in words?

At an average 130 words per minute, here's how many words fit in each length of speech or video. Use the slow column for a careful talk with pauses and the fast one for an energetic video.

| Length | Slow, 110 wpm | Average, 130 wpm | Fast, 160 wpm |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 minute | 110 words | 130 words | 160 words |
| 2 minutes | 220 words | 260 words | 320 words |
| 3 minutes | 330 words | 390 words | 480 words |
| 5 minutes | 550 words | 650 words | 800 words |
| 10 minutes | 1,100 words | 1,300 words | 1,600 words |
| 15 minutes | 1,650 words | 1,950 words | 2,400 words |
| 20 minutes | 2,200 words | 2,600 words | 3,200 words |
| 30 minutes | 3,300 words | 3,900 words | 4,800 words |

## Sample scripts by length

To hear what a length really feels like, press **Try a sample** above and read one of the 1, 3 or 5 minute scripts out loud on the teleprompter. It tells you how long the read took when you reach the end.

## How long does it take to say 500 or 1,000 words?

| Words | Speaking, 130 wpm | Reading silently, 238 wpm |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 100 words | 46 sec | 25 sec |
| 250 words | 1 min 55 sec | 1 min 3 sec |
| 500 words | 3 min 51 sec | 2 min 6 sec |
| 750 words | 5 min 46 sec | 3 min 9 sec |
| 1,000 words | 7 min 42 sec | 4 min 12 sec |
| 1,500 words | 11 min 32 sec | 6 min 18 sec |
| 2,000 words | 15 min 23 sec | 8 min 24 sec |
| 3,000 words | 23 min 5 sec | 12 min 36 sec |

## Why your own pace matters

Calculators that assume one speed can be a minute off on a five minute speech. Someone who speaks at 160 words per minute gets through 650 words in about 4 minutes, while at 110 the same speech takes nearly 6. The pace test above times you on a real passage, and your result is saved in this browser for next time.

- Read the test the way you'll actually deliver the speech, not the way you'd read an email.
- Add a few seconds for each pause you plan, like a laugh line, a slide change or a demo.
- For a talk with a hard limit, aim for 90% of the time. Applause, questions and a lost slide take longer than you expect.

## Practise it on the teleprompter

Once the length is right, press **Read it on the teleprompter** to open the same script in the free [online teleprompter](https://floatscript.app/online-teleprompter). It scrolls as you talk, so you can rehearse the whole thing and see how long it really takes. To read it while you film on an iPhone, in the Camera app, TikTok or Instagram, use [Float Script for iPhone](https://floatscript.app/read-script-while-recording).

## Questions

### How many words per minute do people speak?

Most people speak at 120 to 160 words per minute in a talk or on camera. 130 is a comfortable middle for a speech. Nervous speakers often run faster than they think, so time yourself with the pace test on this page.

### How many words is a 5 minute speech?

About 650 words at 130 words per minute. At a slow 110 it's 550 words, and at a fast 160 it's 800.

### How long does it take to say 1,000 words?

About 7 minutes 42 seconds at 130 words per minute, or 6 minutes 15 seconds at 160.

### Is speaking time the same as reading time?

No. Reading silently is much faster, about 238 words per minute for an adult reading non-fiction, so a script takes nearly twice as long to say as to read.

### Is my text saved or uploaded?

Your text stays in this browser. It's kept there so the online teleprompter can open the same script, and nothing is uploaded.

## More from Float Script

- [Free online teleprompter](https://floatscript.app/online-teleprompter)
- [Voice activated teleprompter](https://floatscript.app/voice-activated-teleprompter)
- [Read a script while recording](https://floatscript.app/read-script-while-recording)
- [About Float Script](https://floatscript.app/about)

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Web page: https://floatscript.app/words-to-minutes