Free tool
Script timer
Paste your script and pick a speed to see how long it takes to read aloud. It times the script the same way CamPrompter's steady scroll does, pauses included.
0:14
to read
30
words
0:02
of pauses
How many words fit in a 30, 60 or 90 second video?
Most people speak on camera at 130 to 170 words a minute. At those speeds, a script of this length fills the time without rushing:
| Video length | At 130 wpm | At 150 wpm | At 170 wpm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 seconds | 33 words | 38 words | 43 words |
| 30 seconds | 65 words | 75 words | 85 words |
| 60 seconds | 130 words | 150 words | 170 words |
| 90 seconds | 195 words | 225 words | 255 words |
| 2 minutes | 260 words | 300 words | 340 words |
| 3 minutes | 390 words | 450 words | 510 words |
| 5 minutes | 650 words | 750 words | 850 words |
Leave a little room: breaths, pauses and a smile at the end all take time. For a 60-second video, about 140 words is a comfortable target.
What's a normal speaking speed?
- Around 130 words a minute feels calm and deliberate. It suits explainers, tutorials and anything with numbers or steps.
- Around 150 is an easy conversational pace for most talking-head videos.
- 170 and up sounds energetic, the pace of many short social videos. Go much faster and viewers start to miss words.
The best way to find your own speed is to time yourself reading a script aloud, then set the slider until the timer matches.
How the timer counts
- Each spoken word takes its share of the time at your speed.
- The end of a line adds a quarter of a second, and a blank line between paragraphs adds 0.6 seconds.
- A
[pause]cue adds one second. Add a number for longer:[pause 3]holds for three seconds, up to 30. - Anything else in square brackets, like
[smile], is a note to yourself and isn't counted.
Read it at exactly this pace
CamPrompter's steady scroll moves your script at the speed you set, from 50 to 300 words a minute, with the same pauses, and shows how long each script runs. With voice scroll there's no speed to set: the script follows you, and once it's heard you read, the app times scripts at your own pace.