Free tool
Words to Minutes Converter
How long does 1,000 words take to say out loud? Set your pace and find out — or work backwards from the time you have.
That takes about7 min 40 secof speaking timeAt 130 words per minute — presentation, average pace.
Words to speaking time
How long a word count takes to deliver, at the three paces most people fall between.
| Word count | Slow (100 wpm) | Average (130 wpm) | Fast (160 wpm) | Read silently |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 250 words | 2 min 30 sec | 1 min 55 sec | 1 min 35 sec | 1 min 5 sec |
| 500 words | 5 min | 3 min 50 sec | 3 min 10 sec | 2 min 5 sec |
| 750 words | 7 min 30 sec | 5 min 45 sec | 4 min 40 sec | 3 min 10 sec |
| 1,000 words | 10 min | 7 min 40 sec | 6 min 15 sec | 4 min 10 sec |
| 1,500 words | 15 min | 11 min 30 sec | 9 min 25 sec | 6 min 20 sec |
| 2,000 words | 20 min | 15 min 25 sec | 12 min 30 sec | 8 min 25 sec |
| 2,500 words | 25 min | 19 min 15 sec | 15 min 40 sec | 10 min 30 sec |
| 3,000 words | 30 min | 23 min 5 sec | 18 min 45 sec | 12 min 35 sec |
| 5,000 words | 50 min | 38 min 30 sec | 31 min 15 sec | 21 min |
| 10,000 words | 100 min | 76 min 55 sec | 62 min 30 sec | 42 min |
Speech length to word count
Working backwards from the time you have been given.
| Speech length | Slow (100 wpm) | Average (130 wpm) | Fast (160 wpm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 minute | 100 words | 130 words | 160 words |
| 2 minutes | 200 words | 260 words | 320 words |
| 3 minutes | 300 words | 390 words | 480 words |
| 5 minutes | 500 words | 650 words | 800 words |
| 7 minutes | 700 words | 910 words | 1,120 words |
| 10 minutes | 1,000 words | 1,300 words | 1,600 words |
| 15 minutes | 1,500 words | 1,950 words | 2,400 words |
| 20 minutes | 2,000 words | 2,600 words | 3,200 words |
| 30 minutes | 3,000 words | 3,900 words | 4,800 words |
Speaking rates are conventions, not a measurement of you. Pauses, slides, questions and nerves all move the real time — read it aloud with a timer before it counts.
Frequently asked questions
- How long is a 5 minute speech in words?
- About 650 words at an average speaking pace of 130 words per minute. Aim slightly under — almost everyone speeds up in front of an audience, and running short is far easier to fix than running long.
- How many words is a 3 minute speech?
- About 390 words at an average presenting pace. If you are reading from a script rather than presenting, closer to 450.
- How long does it take to read 1,000 words?
- About 4 minutes silently, or nearly 7 minutes read aloud. Silent reading is roughly 238 words per minute for English non-fiction; reading aloud is around 150.
- What is a good speaking pace?
- Between 120 and 160 words per minute for a presentation. Below 100 sounds laboured; above 170 is hard to follow, and nerves push most people upward without their noticing.
- Why is my speech running longer than this says?
- Pauses. This converts words to talking time, and it cannot know about your slide transitions, the question you take halfway through, or the beat you leave after a point lands. Add 10–20% for anything with an audience in the room.
- Should I write to the word count or the time limit?
- Time, if there is a time limit — that is what will be enforced. Use the word count as a drafting target, then read the whole thing aloud with a timer before you commit to it.
Now write the talk
Draft it, cut it to length, and rewrite it until it sounds like you saying it out loud. Free to start.