How long a script "is" depends entirely on the speaker. Auctioneers and fast podcast hosts run at 200+ WPM, conversational presenters land around 130, formal keynotes drop to 100 because of pauses, and audiobook narrators usually sit between 150 and 160. This calculator multiplies your word count by the WPM you choose to give a realistic duration in HH:MM:SS.
Use the presets when you don't know your own pace, or drop in your own number if you've timed yourself reading a paragraph. For a real run-of-show estimate, add 10–20% on top to cover breaths, slide transitions and improvisation — pure WPM math always under-estimates live delivery.
The widely cited averages are 120–150 WPM for conversational speech, 150–160 WPM for podcast narration, 100–120 WPM for formal presentations or audiobooks, and around 250 WPM for fast radio reads or auctioneers.
It splits on whitespace runs and ignores empty tokens, so hyphenated terms count as one word but slash-separated phrases (and/or) count as one too. Numbers count as one word each, even when written long-form like "twenty thousand".
The estimate assumes continuous speaking at the chosen WPM. Real delivery includes pauses for breath, slide transitions, audience reaction and improvisation. A 10–20% buffer on top of the estimate is a sensible default.
Add them in your run sheet, not in the WPM. Even a confident speaker drops 20–30 seconds per minute to emphatic pauses; for a Q&A-heavy talk, double the script estimate.
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