How do I calculate how long my speech will take?

Divide the number of words in your script by your speaking rate in words per minute. A 900 word script takes 6 minutes at 150 words per minute, because 900 divided by 150 is 6. This calculator runs that division at 130, 150 and 170 words per minute at the same time.

How long does it take to read a speech out loud?

At an average speaking pace of 150 words per minute, 1,000 words takes about 6 minutes and 40 seconds. The same script runs about 7 minutes 42 seconds at a slow 130 words per minute, and about 5 minutes 53 seconds at a fast 170. This tool shows all three at once.

How many words per minute should I speak?

This calculator treats 130 words per minute as slow, 150 as average, and 170 as fast, and those are planning figures rather than a target to hit. Your own delivered rate is worth measuring from a timed rehearsal, because it moves under pressure and rarely matches the number you planned with.

How many words is a 5 minute speech?

A 5 minute speech is about 650 words at a slow 130 words per minute, 750 words at an average 150, and 850 words at a fast 170. Aim near the lower end if you want room to pause and let key points land.

Do pauses count toward words per minute?

Pauses add no words but they do add time, so a words per minute figure already averages your talking speed together with your silence. That is why a timed rehearsal is more accurate than calculating from word count alone, especially for a talk built around deliberate pauses.

Why does my speaking time matter?

Running over time is one of the most common presentation mistakes, and pace shapes how confident you sound. The Wellspoken app scores your real speaking pace, pauses, and filler words from a short recording.

Free tool

Speech time calculator

Paste your script and see how long it takes to say out loud, at a slow, average, or fast speaking pace. Instant, free, no signup.

To work it out by hand, divide your word count by your speaking rate: speech length in minutes = total words ÷ words per minute. This calculator uses 130 words per minute for a slow delivery, 150 for average, and 170 for fast. A 1,000 word speech runs about 7 minutes 42 seconds at 130 wpm, 6 minutes 40 seconds at 150 wpm, and 5 minutes 53 seconds at 170 wpm.

Speaking time

0:00

Slow

130 wpm

0:00

Average

150 wpm

0:00

Fast

170 wpm

0 words0 sentences0 characters

Questions

How do I calculate how long my speech will take?
Divide the number of words in your script by your speaking rate in words per minute. A 900 word script takes 6 minutes at 150 words per minute, because 900 divided by 150 is 6. This calculator runs that division at 130, 150 and 170 words per minute at the same time.
How long does it take to read a speech out loud?
At an average speaking pace of 150 words per minute, 1,000 words takes about 6 minutes and 40 seconds. The same script runs about 7 minutes 42 seconds at a slow 130 words per minute, and about 5 minutes 53 seconds at a fast 170. This tool shows all three at once.
How many words per minute should I speak?
This calculator treats 130 words per minute as slow, 150 as average, and 170 as fast, and those are planning figures rather than a target to hit. Your own delivered rate is worth measuring from a timed rehearsal, because it moves under pressure and rarely matches the number you planned with.
How many words is a 5 minute speech?
A 5 minute speech is about 650 words at a slow 130 words per minute, 750 words at an average 150, and 850 words at a fast 170. Aim near the lower end if you want room to pause and let key points land.
Do pauses count toward words per minute?
Pauses add no words but they do add time, so a words per minute figure already averages your talking speed together with your silence. That is why a timed rehearsal is more accurate than calculating from word count alone, especially for a talk built around deliberate pauses.
Why does my speaking time matter?
Running over time is one of the most common presentation mistakes, and pace shapes how confident you sound. The Wellspoken app scores your real speaking pace, pauses, and filler words from a short recording.

Word counts for common speech lengths

Every figure below uses the same three paces as the calculator above, so the two always agree. Slow is 130 words per minute, average is 150, and fast is 170.

Approximate word counts for speech lengths from 1 to 45 minutes at slow, average and fast speaking paces
Length	Slow, 130 wpm	Average, 150 wpm	Fast, 170 wpm
1 minute	130 words	150 words	170 words
2 minutes	260 words	300 words	340 words
3 minutes	390 words	450 words	510 words
5 minutes	650 words	750 words	850 words
7 minutes	910 words	1,050 words	1,190 words
10 minutes	1,300 words	1,500 words	1,700 words
15 minutes	1,950 words	2,250 words	2,550 words
20 minutes	2,600 words	3,000 words	3,400 words
30 minutes	3,900 words	4,500 words	5,100 words
45 minutes	5,850 words	6,750 words	7,650 words

How this calculator works

The calculation is a single division. Speech length in minutes equals total words divided by words per minute, and the result is rounded to the nearest second. A 750 word script at 150 words per minute returns 5:00, because 750 divided by 150 is 5.

The three rates are Wellspoken planning presets rather than a published research finding. We use 130 words per minute for slow, 150 for average, and 170 for fast, and every table and answer on this page uses that same set. Nothing here accounts for pauses you add on purpose, audience questions, applause, or slide transitions, so the number is speaking time rather than the length of your slot. Your own delivered rate is a separate figure, measured from a rehearsal.

Choosing a pace

Words per minute averages your talking speed together with your silence, so two speakers can share a number and sound nothing alike. One talks steadily throughout. The other moves quickly through sentences and leaves real gaps between them. The second is usually easier to follow, because the gaps land where an audience needs to catch up.

Pick your pace from the room rather than from a target number. Reading from a script runs faster than speaking from notes. Video calls run faster than a stage, because silence feels longer when you cannot read the room. Dense or unfamiliar material rewards a slower pace, and so does speaking to an audience listening in a second language.

Practised speakers often sit above 150. Delivery that sounds rushed is usually about missing pauses rather than a high word rate, which is why adding silence at the transitions tends to fix it faster than trying to slow every sentence down.

Rehearsal time and real time

A word count is an estimate built on an assumed pace, so treat the result as a planning figure and confirm it by speaking. Time a rehearsal standing, out loud, at full volume. A silent read-through runs considerably faster than speech and gives you a number that will not survive the actual room.

Leave margin. Writing to roughly 90 percent of your slot absorbs the questions, the technical fumble, and the tangent you did not plan, and it costs you nothing when none of those happen. It also helps to time your opening and closing separately, since those are the two stretches an audience remembers and the two most likely to get rushed.

Measuring your real pace

This calculator estimates from a script. Your actual delivered pace is a different number, and it moves under pressure. The Wellspoken app measures it from a recording, alongside where your pauses fall and how often fillers appear, so you can see which stretch sped up. For more on pacing in conversation, read how fast you should talk in a meeting.

Common lengths, worked through

At the average pace of 150 words per minute, 100 words takes about 40 seconds, 250 words takes 1 minute 40 seconds, 500 words takes 3 minutes 20 seconds, and 1,000 words takes 6 minutes 40 seconds. Each page below covers what actually fits at that length, a structure sized to it, and the rehearsal trap specific to that duration.