Free · no signup · script stays in your browser
Words to minutes calculator for YouTube scripts
How long will the script run once it is spoken? Paste it, pick a pace, get the length. The paces marked “measured” come from timing real AI voiceover voices, not from the usual 130-words-a-minute guess.
Most YouTube explainers
Words
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Spoken length at 150 wpm
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Reverse: words for
Measured paces of AI voiceover voices
One fixed narration passage, each voice at default speed, timed with ffprobe on 2026-09-22. The spread is the point: the voice you pick changes the length of a 10-minute video by a minute or more.
How to use the number
Write to a length
Decide the video length first, then use the reverse box to get the word budget. A script that runs long gets cut in the edit, where it hurts most.
Match pace to format
Sleep stories and history run slow; list videos and reaction-style scripts run fast. Picking the wrong pace is the most common reason the estimate is off.
Time your own voice once
Count the words in one minute of your last video and use the custom pace. Your real number beats every table, including ours.
Explainer video words per minute
Explainer videos are usually narrated at about 130 to 150 words per minute. That is the range in VideoScribe's explainer script guide (“a comfortable voiceover pace is around 130–150 words per minute”), and the explainer studio Bread & Beyond says its voice actors read 2.5 words per second, or 150 words per minute (both read November 1, 2026). Treat the range as common practice, not a rule: the pace that fits is the one at which your viewer can follow both the voice and the screen.
| Explainer length | Words at 130 wpm | Words at 150 wpm |
|---|---|---|
| 30 seconds | 65 | 75 |
| 60 seconds | 130 | 150 |
| 90 seconds | 195 | 225 |
| 2 minutes | 260 | 300 |
| 3 minutes | 390 | 450 |
Words = seconds × words per minute ÷ 60, rounded. Spoken words only.
Worked example: a 90-second explainer
Say the video is 90 seconds and opens with a 5-second logo sting and ends with a 5-second end card. That leaves 80 seconds of narration: 173 words at 130 wpm, 200 at 150. If a full 90 seconds is voiced, the budget is 195 to 225 words. Write to the low end when the screen carries a lot of text, so the viewer has time to read it.
With an AI voice, the voice decides the pace more than the format does. The voices we timed ran from 133 to 167 words per minute at default speed (2026-09-22), so the same 60-second explainer needs 133 to 167 words depending on the voice.
To check your own script, paste it in the calculator at the top, pick a pace or type your own, and use the reverse box to get the word budget for the length you want.
Frequently asked questions
How many words per minute is an explainer video?
About 130 to 150 words per minute. That is the voiceover pace explainer script guides commonly give (VideoScribe and the explainer studio Bread & Beyond, read November 1, 2026). At 150 wpm a 60-second explainer holds 150 words and a 2-minute one 300; at 130 wpm, 130 and 260.
How many words is a 10-minute YouTube video?
About 1,500 words at a conversational 150 words per minute, 1,200 at a slow documentary pace, and up to 1,750 if the delivery is fast. Pick the pace above and the table gives you every common length.
How many words per minute does an AI voice speak?
It depends on the voice, not just the model. We timed one fixed passage through our own voices and got 133 to 167 words per minute at default speed. Those paces are in the dropdown, labelled measured, with the date.
Why is the length different from the calculator I used before?
Most calculators assume 130 words per minute, a public-speaking figure. YouTube narration is faster and AI voices are consistent, so a 130 assumption overestimates a 1,500-word script by a minute or more. Use a measured pace, or your own: time one minute of your last video and count the words.
Does the count include pauses, music and b-roll?
No. This is spoken length only. Add your intro, pauses between sections and any silent b-roll on top. For most faceless videos that is another 5 to 10 percent.
Do numbers, names and abbreviations change the timing?
Yes, a little. "2,350" is one word on paper and five spoken. Scripts heavy in numbers, brand names or acronyms run a few percent longer than the estimate.
Is my script sent anywhere?
No. The word count is done in your browser. Nothing is uploaded and we keep nothing.
More free tools
YouTube thumbnail tester — see it in the feed, in search and on a phone next to real videos.
YouTube thumbnail size checker — 1280×720, 16:9 and 2 MB checks, plus the safe-zone overlay.
Best YouTube video length for faceless channels — views by length in the curated snapshot. A correlation, not a cause.
Built by Elevate — a community for people building faceless YouTube channels, with the AI voices these paces were measured on.