Free tool
Read-time calculator for radio copy
How long is that, out loud? Paste it in.
- Words
- 0
- Pace
- 150 wpm
- Characters
- 0
Nothing you paste is sent anywhere. The arithmetic happens in this page — close the tab and it is gone.
What the number means
150 words a minute is ordinary broadcast delivery — engaged, unhurried, the pace of somebody talking rather than announcing. News readers push 160 to 180. A slow, warm read sits nearer 130. Move the slider to your own pace and it will be right for you rather than right on average.
Find your own number once: read something you know for exactly a minute against a stopwatch, count the words, and that is your pace for the rest of your career. It changes far less than people expect.
Useful lengths, in words
| Length | At 150 wpm | What it usually is |
|---|---|---|
| 0:10 | 25 words | A tease, or a liner. |
| 0:30 | 75 words | One story, told properly. |
| 0:60 | 150 words | A story with a turn in it. |
| 1:30 | 225 words | A standard talk break. |
| 3:00 | 450 words | A segment, or a phone topic. |
If a break is long, it is almost always long in the setup — three sentences of context before the thing happens. The anatomy of a ninety-second break is about where the seconds actually go.
Use it, and link to it if it helps
This page is free and always will be — no account, no email, nothing to close. If you teach broadcasting, run a state association resource page, or just want it handy, link straight to it: https://showpreppro.com/read-time-calculator/. No permission needed and nothing to attribute.
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