YouTube Script Timer
A script's runtime is just word count divided by pace, so the only number that really matters is your pace, and you can measure it in thirty seconds.
100% free · runs in your browser · nothing is uploaded
Everything is counted in your browser as you type. Your script is never sent anywhere.
Find your real pace
Press start, read the passage aloud the way you would on camera, then press stop. The timer turns that into your words per minute.
The first thing anyone sees of your video is the thumbnail, and the second is the title. Only after both have done their job does anyone hear a word you say. So the script has a narrow brief: keep the promise the packaging made, as quickly as you can, and then give people a reason to stay for the next minute. Read this at the speed you would use on camera, with the pauses you would leave in, not the speed you would read it to yourself.
Section by section
| Starts | Section | Words | Length |
|---|
Start a line with # to name a section; without headings, each paragraph is a section. Start times are estimates from your pace, so check them against the finished edit before you paste chapters into a description. Words are counted by the spaces between them, so scripts in languages written without spaces, such as Chinese or Japanese, will undercount.
How long will my YouTube script run?
A YouTube script timer answers that before you press record. Paste your script, set your speaking pace in words per minute, and the runtime is the spoken word count divided by that pace, plus any time you have set aside for B-roll, demos or pauses. A 1,500-word script read at 150 words per minute runs ten minutes; the same script at 130 runs just over eleven and a half.
How to time a script properly
- Measure your pace, do not guess it. Read the passage in the calibration panel aloud at your on-camera speed and press stop. Delivery varies so much from creator to creator, and from tutorial to vlog, that your own measured number beats any preset.
- Keep directions out of the count. Anything in [square brackets] is skipped, so camera notes and B-roll reminders do not inflate the runtime.
- Time the silent parts. Put a duration inside a cue, such as
[B-roll: 5s]or[demo 1:30], and it is added to the runtime without counting as words. - Set a target. Enter the length you are aiming for and the timer tells you how many words you are over or have to spare.
What most script timers leave out
Most of the timers that rank for this give you one total, worked out from a slow, average or fast preset that may be nothing like your delivery. This one measures your real pace and breaks the script down by section, with an estimated start time for each, so you can see that the intro is too long rather than just that the whole thing is. Mark sections with a line starting #, or let each paragraph count as one.
The section list copies out as draft chapters. Treat those times as a plan: check them against the finished edit before they go into a description, and run the final list through the description generator, which checks YouTube's chapter rules.
For what to put in the script, read how to script a YouTube video and how long a YouTube video should be. When the runtime is right, the thumbnail is next: generate one that matches the promise your opening makes.
Last updated October 24, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How many words is a 10-minute YouTube video?
It is ten times your speaking pace: 1,500 words at 150 words per minute, 1,300 at 130. Measure your own pace in the calibration panel and enter 10:00 as the target to get your exact word budget.
How do I work out my speaking pace in words per minute?
Read a passage of known length aloud and time it. Press start in the calibration panel, read the passage at your on-camera speed, press stop, and the timer divides the word count by the time taken.
Does the script timer count stage directions and B-roll notes?
No, not by default. Text in [square brackets] is left out of the word count, and any duration written inside a bracket, such as [B-roll: 5s], is added to the runtime as silent time. Untick the option if your script uses brackets for spoken lines.
How accurate is a script timer?
It is as accurate as the pace you give it. The arithmetic is exact, but jump cuts, retakes and unscripted asides change the final runtime, so treat the result as a plan and time a test read of your own before relying on it.
Is my script uploaded anywhere?
No. Counting, timing and calibration all run in your browser as you type. The script never leaves your device and there is no account or limit.
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