Script timer: how long your script takes to say

Paste a script to see how long it runs out loud. A 60-second video is about 150 words at a natural pace of 150 words a minute; set your own pace, pick a target length and see exactly where to cut.

A free tool from Clyper, the AI clipping tool that turns long videos into captioned vertical clips.

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Your script

An example to start with. Paste or type your own over it.

Most videos lose people in the first few seconds. Here's how to write an opening that keeps them. This is an example script. Paste your own over it, and the timer shows how long it takes to say. Start with the payoff. Tell people what they'll get from the video in one short sentence, before anything else. Then cut every line that doesn't move toward it. No long welcome, no "before we start". If a sentence could go and nobody would miss it, take it out. Read the script out loud once before you record. Change any line you trip over, because if it's hard to say, it's hard to follow. Finally, end on one clear thing to do next, and stop.

Speaking pace

Slow130 wpmNatural150 wpmFast170 wpmCustomyou choose

Most talking-head videos. To find your own pace, read 30 seconds of the script aloud and double the words you got through.

Target length

Pick one and anything past it is marked in the script.

Spoken time

0:49min:s

122 words at 150 a minute: 49 s. Fits a 1 min video.

Words that fit at 150 a minute

15 s37
30 s75
45 s112
1 min150
1.5 min225
3 min450
5 min750
10 min1,500

Read it in the teleprompter

6 paragraphs and when each starts

At 150 words a minute

Each part of the script, when it starts, its length in words and how long it takes to say
Starts	Begins with	Words	Takes
0:00	Most videos lose people in the first few seconds. Here's how to write an opening that keeps them.	18	0:07
0:07	This is an example script. Paste your own over it, and the timer shows how long it takes to say.	20	0:08
0:15	Start with the payoff. Tell people what they'll get from the video in one short sentence, before anything else.	19	0:08
0:23	Then cut every line that doesn't move toward it. No long welcome, no "before we start". If a sentence could go and nobody would miss it, take it out.	29	0:12
0:34	Read the script out loud once before you record. Change any line you trip over, because if it's hard to say, it's hard to follow.	25	0:10
0:44	Finally, end on one clear thing to do next, and stop.	11	0:04

Times are for the words alone. Pauses, b-roll and on-screen text add to them, so leave a few seconds spare.

Recording a long version too? Talk for 20 minutes instead of writing ten 30-second scripts. Upload the video to Clyper and it finds the moments that stand on their own, cuts each on whole sentences, frames it vertically on you and captions every word.

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How many words fit in a video

A 60-second video is about 150 words at a natural speaking pace, a 30-second one about 75, and a 15-second one about 37. Here are the usual lengths at a slow, natural and fast pace, rounded down to whole words:

How many words fit in a video of each length, at 130, 150 and 170 words a minute
Length	Slow, 130 wpm	Natural, 150 wpm	Fast, 170 wpm
15 s	32 words	37 words	42 words
30 s	65 words	75 words	85 words
45 s	97 words	112 words	127 words
1 min	130 words	150 words	170 words
1.5 min	195 words	225 words	255 words
3 min	390 words	450 words	510 words
5 min	650 words	750 words	850 words
10 min	1,300 words	1,500 words	1,700 words

For TikTok, Reels and Shorts, write a little under these numbers: a hook on screen, a pause for a reaction or a shot with no talking all take seconds out of the count. For how long a short video should be in the first place, read how long a short video should be, and for the 60-second script in detail, how many words are in a 60-second video.

Words to minutes: how long a speech takes

A 1,000-word speech takes about 6 min 40 s to say at 150 words a minute. The formula is words ÷ words a minute = minutes, so 1,000 ÷ 150 = 6.7 minutes. The chart below works it out for common script lengths:

How long scripts of different lengths take to say, at 130, 150 and 170 words a minute
Words	Slow, 130 wpm	Natural, 150 wpm	Fast, 170 wpm
50	23 s	20 s	18 s
100	46 s	40 s	35 s
150	1 min 10 s	1 min	53 s
250	1 min 55 s	1 min 40 s	1 min 30 s
300	2 min 20 s	2 min	1 min 45 s
500	3 min 50 s	3 min 20 s	2 min 55 s
750	5 min 45 s	5 min	4 min 25 s
1,000	7 min 40 s	6 min 40 s	5 min 55 s
1,500	11 min 30 s	10 min	8 min 50 s
2,000	15 min 25 s	13 min 20 s	11 min 45 s
2,500	19 min 15 s	16 min 40 s	14 min 40 s
3,000	23 min 5 s	20 min	17 min 40 s
5,000	38 min 30 s	33 min 20 s	29 min 25 s

A YouTube script for a 10-minute video is around 1,500 words; a 3-minute one around 450. For how to structure one, see how to write a YouTube script.

Slow, natural and fast: which pace to use

The three paces are round figures commonly used for speech to a camera, not rules: your pace depends on you, the topic and the language, and the same person speeds up on a topic they know well. Timing yourself beats any average.

Speaking paces and the videos they suit
Pace	Words a minute	Suits
Slow	about 130	Explaining, teaching, a calm read
Natural	about 150	Most talking-head videos
Fast	about 170	Energetic Shorts and TikToks

Slow suits tutorials, numbers and anything people need to follow step by step. Natural is a conversation with the viewer. Fast is the punchy delivery of many Shorts and TikToks, where every second counts, but it gets hard to follow quickly, so put captions on it. To measure your own pace, read for 30 seconds and double the words you said.

How to cut a script to length

Set a target and look at what's marked. The timer marks every word past the target. Rather than lopping off the end, which is usually the payoff, cut that many words from the middle.

Cut the warm-up first. “Hey guys, welcome back” and “before we start” cost seconds before the hook. Open on the point; the hook generator has lines to start with.

One idea per paragraph. The timer shows when each paragraph starts. If one runs much longer than the rest, it's usually two ideas, and one of them can go.

Read it out loud. Then record it in the teleprompter, which scrolls your script at the pace you set here.

Questions

How many words is a 60-second video?

About 150 words at a natural pace of 150 words a minute. A slower, calmer read fits about 130, and a fast, energetic one about 170.

How many words is a 30-second video?

About 75 words at 150 words a minute, or 65 to 85 depending on how fast you talk. A 15-second video fits about 37.

How long is a 1,000-word speech?

About 6 min 40 s at 150 words a minute. Read slowly, at 130, it takes about 7 min 40 s; read fast, at 170, about 5 min 55 s.

How many words is a 5-minute speech?

About 750 words at a natural pace, and 650 to 850 from a slow to a fast speaker. A 10-minute talk is about 1,500 words.

How do I find my own speaking pace?

Set a timer for 30 seconds and read a script aloud the way you'd say it on camera. Count the words you got through and double them: that's your words a minute. Put it in the timer's custom pace.

How are words counted?

The way they're said: a contraction like don't, a hyphenated word like well-known, a number like 1,000 and a link each count as one word. Punctuation on its own isn't a word. Chinese and Japanese are counted a character at a time.

Does the timer include pauses?

No. It times the words at a steady pace. Pauses for effect, b-roll, on-screen text and reactions all add time, so aim a few seconds under your target.

Is my script saved or uploaded?

It's saved in your browser so it's there when you come back, and never uploaded. The teleprompter button hands it to Clyper's free teleprompter, also in your browser.

One long recording, many short videos

Instead of scripting every short, record one long video and paste its YouTube link. Clyper finds the moments that stand on their own and makes up to 30 vertical clips, cut on whole sentences and captioned word by word.

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