01
How the estimate works
The calculator counts the words you'll actually say: links and hashtags are left out, numbers count as one word. It divides that by your pace in words per minute and adds any pauses you marked with [pause] (1 second) or a length like [2s].
The pace presets (130, 150 and 170 words a minute in English) are our own starting points, not a measured average. Speaking speed varies a lot between people, languages and formats, so the most accurate number is your own: press Measure my pace, read the script aloud, and the calculator uses your real speed.
02
Writing a script that fits
A 15 second video has room for roughly 35 to 40 words at an average pace, a 30 second one for about 75. Leave a second or two at the start for the hook to land and at the end for the call to action, as most people speed up when they record.
If the script runs long, cut words before you speed up. A rushed voiceover is harder to follow, and captions get too fast to read.
Sources and methodology
Numbers checked on October 18, 2026.
There is no platform or standard source for speaking pace: it depends on the speaker, the language and the format. The presets are our own starting points (130, 150 and 170 words per minute in English; 100, 120 and 140 in Hungarian, where words are longer on average). Measure your own pace with the stopwatch for an accurate result. Everything runs in your browser.
