The average words per minute speaking rate for comfortable listening is about 150 to 160, the pace recommended for audiobooks. Slide presentations tend to run slower, around 100 to 125. For a short video, plan on about 150 words per minute: 38 words for 15 seconds, 75 for 30 seconds and 150 for a minute.
This guide gives you the numbers, a chart that turns any video length into a word count, a one-minute test to find your own pace, and one thing about video that changes the math in your favor.
What is the average words per minute speaking rate?
There isn't one number, because the right pace depends on what you're doing. Here's what the research summaries say for different situations (Wikipedia, words per minute; Wikipedia, speech tempo):
Short videos sit near the audiobook range: easy to follow, not rushed.
| Situation | Words per minute |
|---|---|
| Slide presentations | 100–125 |
| Audiobooks (comfortable listening) | 150–160 |
| BBC radio news bulletins (one study) | about 168 |
| Auctioneers | about 250 |
| Fastest competitive debaters | 350 to over 500 |
150 words per minute is also the pace SpeakHead uses to estimate how long an English script will take to say.
Words per minute to video length: the script chart
To turn a target length into a word count, multiply the minutes by your speaking rate. At 150 words per minute, that's 2.5 words per second.
Save this chart. Plan with the middle column.
| Length | Slow (130 wpm) | Natural (150 wpm) | Fast (170 wpm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 seconds | 33 | 38 | 43 |
| 30 seconds | 65 | 75 | 85 |
| 45 seconds | 98 | 113 | 128 |
| 60 seconds | 130 | 150 | 170 |
| 90 seconds | 195 | 225 | 255 |
| 2 minutes | 260 | 300 | 340 |
| 3 minutes | 390 | 450 | 510 |
| 5 minutes | 650 | 750 | 850 |
So a 1-minute speech is about 150 words, a 2-minute speech about 300, and a 5-minute speech about 750. For how to split those words into a hook, a point and an ask, see our video script template.
How to measure your own words per minute
Averages are a starting point. Your own rate is the number that makes your scripts fit. It takes one minute to find.
- Pick any article and start a 60-second timer.
- Read out loud as if you're explaining it to one person across a table.
- Stop when the timer ends and count the words you read. That's your words per minute.
- For a longer, more accurate test, read for 2 minutes and divide the word count by 2.
Tip: record yourself with your phone's voice memo app while you do it. Listening back tells you whether the pace sounded calm or rushed, which matters more than the number.
Worked example: planning a 60-second video from your own rate
Here's how one measurement turns into a script plan. This is an example, not a real person.
- A founder runs the 60-second test and reads 140 words. Their words per minute speaking rate is 140.
- For a 60-second video, the budget is 140 words, not the 150 from the chart.
- Split it: about 12 words for the hook, 90 for the point, 25 for the proof and 13 for the ask.
- The first draft comes in at 172 words. They cut one example from the point, not the hook or the ask, and land at 138.
- They record it in one take at 58 seconds, then cut the pauses.
The lesson: measure once, then write to your own number. It saves more re-recording than any speaking tip.
Is 150 words per minute too fast for video?
No. 150 is in the comfortable range for listening, and short videos are often watched with captions, which makes a steady pace even easier to follow. The real problem on video is usually long pauses, not speed.
On video, pauses are free
Here's what changes on video: you can pause between thoughts as much as you like, because the pauses can be cut afterwards. Your effective rate goes up without you talking any faster.
An illustration: say a 75-word script takes 32 seconds to record because you stop to think between lines. That's about 140 words per minute. Cut 7 seconds of dead air and it plays in 25 seconds, which is 180 words per minute. It sounds brisk, yet you never rushed a single word.
So the advice for video is: speak at a natural pace, pause whenever you need to, and remove the pauses in the edit.
How to slow down or speed up
| If you're… | Try this |
|---|---|
| Rushing | Mark a breath ( / ) at the end of each line of your script, and stress one word per sentence. |
| Running long | Cut words, not speed. Remove one sentence from the middle before you try to talk faster. |
| Too slow or flat | Stand up, smile on the first line, and talk to one specific person you know. |
| Reading from a teleprompter | Set the scroll a little slower than your natural pace. Most people speed up on camera. |
Words per minute in other languages
Languages pack meaning into words differently, so word counts per minute vary. These are the planning defaults SpeakHead uses to estimate script length. They're assumptions for planning, not measurements, so run the 60-second test in your own language.
| Language | Planning rate (wpm) |
|---|---|
| English | 150 |
| Spanish | 160 |
| French, Italian, Portuguese | 155 |
| Dutch, Indonesian, Malay | 140 |
| Turkish, Polish | 135 |
| German, Hindi | 130 |
The fastest way to keep every script the right length
With any phone: write in your notes app, paste the text into a word counter, and divide by 150 to get minutes. Then record and check the length against your target.
With SpeakHead: the word count and estimated spoken length show under every script as you write, so you know a script is too long before you hit record. Scripts can be timed for 15, 30 or 60 seconds.
App Store screenshot. The script is example text.
SpeakHead is an iPhone app for talking-head videos: it writes ideas and scripts, shows the script right under the camera lens while you record, and turns the raw take into a finished short with captions, cuts and zooms in one tap. Recording and the teleprompter are free, with no watermark.
Know it fits before you hit record.
Recording and the teleprompter are free, with no watermark.
Get SpeakHeadSpeaking rate questions
For comfortable listening, about 150 to 160 words per minute, the pace recommended for audiobooks. Presentations tend to be slower, around 100 to 125. Your own rate can be higher or lower, so time yourself reading for one minute to find it.
About 150 words at a natural pace, or 130 to 170 depending on how fast you talk. For a video, aim slightly under so you have room to pause without running over.
About 750 words at 150 words per minute, or 650 to 850 at slower and faster paces. For a live talk with slides, plan closer to 500 to 625 words, since presentations tend to run at 100 to 125 words per minute.
No. It's a comfortable, conversational pace and sits in the range recommended for audiobooks. It only feels fast if you don't pause at all. On video, pause between thoughts and cut the pauses afterwards.
Read out loud for one minute at a natural pace and count the words. For more accuracy, read for two minutes and divide the word count by two. Record it on your phone so you can also hear whether it sounded rushed.
About 2.5 words per second at 150 words per minute. That's useful for short videos: a 10-word hook takes about 4 seconds to say.
Last updated 13 October 2026 by Niko Julius, maker of SpeakHead. Rates by situation from Wikipedia's "Words per minute" and "Speech tempo" articles, checked 13 October 2026. Language planning rates are SpeakHead's built-in defaults, not research figures.
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