Estimate how long pasted text, a script, or a known word count will take to hear as text-to-speech, narration, or voiceover audio. This calculator models spoken audio rather than silent reading. It runs in the current browser tab without an account and does not upload the text while calculating.
Listening seconds equal word count divided by words per minute, multiplied by 60, multiplied by one plus the selected pause percentage, then divided by playback speed. For example, 300 words at 150 WPM take 2 minutes before pauses. A 10% allowance makes the estimate 2 minutes 12 seconds; listening at 2x makes that approximately 1 minute 6 seconds.
The result is a planning estimate. Actual generated audio varies with the selected voice, language, pronunciation, punctuation handling, headings, pauses, synthesis provider, and document structure. Test a representative passage when timing must match a fixed video, slide, or production cue.
The reverse calculator uses the same visible assumptions to estimate how many words fit inside a target duration. At 150 WPM, 1x playback, and a 10% pause allowance, a five-minute target fits about 681 words. Adjust the narration rate, playback speed, or pause allowance to model the actual listening scenario.
Use the pause-adjusted estimate as a spoken-time floor when planning a training video. It is a narration floor, not the promised finished-video runtime: visual holds, worked examples, transitions, and knowledge checks may need additional time. VoiceBrief uses the source-supported useful runtime instead of padding a short source to a package maximum.
Create a free video storyboard to review the teaching arc, topic-aware visual direction, voice, source receipts, and useful runtime before payment.
Pasted text stays in the current browser tab while the calculator is open. If you choose Create audio from this text, VoiceBrief saves the draft to session storage for up to one hour so the private dashboard can reopen it after sign-in. The limited free plan provides a preview; Pro is $19.99 per month for new subscriptions.
For a real PDF, use the private PDF audio estimator. To compare current apps and trade-offs, open the text-to-speech app finder. To start from plain text, continue to the text-to-audio converter.
