Voiceover & Podcast Script Duration Estimator
The problem: Commercial voiceover scripts must hit exact 30s or 60s broadcast cutoffs, but manual timing by reading aloud is imprecise.
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Voiceover & Podcast Script Duration Estimator: the complete guide
The Voiceover & Podcast Script Duration Estimator calculates spoken audio running times for commercial voiceovers, podcast scripts, and YouTube voice tracks. Accounts for natural conversational pauses, sentence breathing buffers, and reading tempos across slow (125 WPM), natural (150 WPM), and fast (185 WPM) delivery.
Words Per Minute (WPM) Standards in Voice Acting
Professional voice talent calibrate their pacing to the target medium. Medical tutorials, technical e-learning, and guided meditations require slow articulation (115–130 WPM). Commercial advertisements and podcasts flow naturally at 145–160 WPM. Fast-paced radio promos and legal disclaimers often exceed 180–200 WPM.
Accounting for Punctuation and Conversational Breathing
Simple word count divided by speed yields misleadingly short durations because human speech requires micro-pauses for punctuation, breath control, and emphasis. Factoring in ~200ms for commas, ~450ms for periods, and ~750ms for paragraph breaks produces realistic recording and editing timelines.
Step by step: how to use Script Timer
- 1
Paste your voiceover script or narration draft into the text area.
- 2
Check the word count and estimated breathing pause additions.
- 3
Compare estimated audio running times across Slow, Natural, and Fast pacing cards.
- 4
Use the interactive custom WPM slider to match your voice actor's personal delivery speed.
- 5
Enter the actor's rate per word to calculate total talent production costs.
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