How many characters is a minute of voice-over?

Text-to-speech is usually priced per character, while your project is planned in minutes: a 30-second spot, a 10-minute module, a 9-hour audiobook. To estimate cost and length, you need a way to convert one into the other.

The rule of thumb

One minute of speech is about 1,000 characters, counting spaces and punctuation. A natural English narration runs at roughly 140 to 160 words per minute, and an average English word plus its space is about six characters, which gives 850 to 1,000 characters a minute. Rounding to 1,000 keeps the arithmetic simple and leaves a little room.

What changes the number

• Pace: ads are read faster, audiobooks and lessons slower. A brisk spot can fit more characters per minute, a calm narration fewer.
• Language: German words are longer, so the same minute holds more characters; Spanish and Italian are spoken with more syllables per second. Chinese is counted in characters that each carry a syllable, so a minute holds far fewer characters.
• Pauses: pauses between paragraphs and after headings add time without adding characters.
• Numbers and abbreviations: "€29" is three characters on the page but several words when read; spelled out, it costs more characters and takes the same time.

Examples

• 30-second ad: about 450 to 550 characters.
• 2-minute product video: about 2,000 characters.
• 10-minute e-learning module: about 10,000 characters.
• 1-hour audiobook: about 60,000 characters.
• Novel of 80,000 words: about 480,000 characters, or roughly eight to nine hours of audio.

How HancVoice counts

Every character of your input text counts, including spaces and punctuation. Listening in the editor is free; characters are charged once, when you download the finished file, and downloading the same file again is free. Characters from plans and packs add up on one balance and do not expire.

So the practical way to plan is: count the characters of your script, add ten percent for changes and retakes, and pick the plan or pack that covers it. Current prices are on the pricing page.

Check with a real sample

Rules of thumb are a starting point. Voice one real paragraph of your script with the voice you plan to use, note its length, and scale from there. That one measurement beats any average.

Common questions

Do spaces count as characters? Yes. Every character of the input text counts, including spaces and punctuation.

How long is 10,000 characters of audio? About ten minutes at a natural narration pace.

Am I charged when I listen in the editor? No. Characters are charged when you download the finished file, and downloading the same file again is free.

Try it yourself — a free starter character pack when you sign up.