Speech Length Calculator: How Many Words for a 2, 3, 5 or 10 Minute Speech?

By Alex Johnson. Speaking time used to be a single line on our words to pages calculator. Search data says people want a lot more than that: how many words fill a three-minute slot, how long a 1,000-word speech will run, whether 160 words a minute is too fast. This page answers those questions, and the calculator works in both directions.

Paste your speech or type a word count to see how long it will take to deliver. If you have a time limit instead, switch to Time limit and the calculator gives you a word budget at a slow, average and fast pace.

How many words is a 1, 3, 5 or 10 minute speech?

Find your time limit in the first column. The average column is the safest number to write to. The fast column is a ceiling: you can deliver that much, but only if you talk quickly and leave almost no room for pauses.

A 5-minute speech at an average pace is about 650 words, which fills a little over two and a half double-spaced pages. Write to the fast column instead, 800 words, and you'll need to deliver it at the speed of an audiobook narrator to finish on time.

How long is a 500, 1,000 or 2,000 word speech?

Going the other way, divide your word count by your speaking pace. A 1,000-word speech takes about 7 minutes 42 seconds at 130 words per minute, a little over 6 minutes at a fast 160, and just over 9 minutes at a slow 110.

Times are minutes:seconds of continuous speaking, with no pauses.

What is a normal speaking pace?

The National Center for Voice and Speech puts average conversation for American English speakers at about 150 words per minute, a figure reported by the presentation training company VirtualSpeech. Speeches usually run slower than chat. VirtualSpeech's guide places a comfortable presentation pace between 100 and 150 words per minute, while audiobook narrators and radio hosts sit at 150 to 160.

Popular talks can be much faster. When VirtualSpeech timed five of the most-watched TED talks, the average came out at 173 words per minute, ranging from 154 for Brené Brown to 201 for Tony Robbins. Practiced speakers can hold that pace and stay easy to follow. For a toast, a class presentation or a eulogy, a slower plan is safer.

That is why the calculator defaults to 130, the middle of the presentation range. It leaves room for pauses without padding the estimate. If you know your own pace, type it into the words-per-minute box.

Why speeches run longer than the math says

A words-per-minute figure assumes you talk without stopping. Real speeches stop all the time. You pause after a point you want to land, wait for laughter, take a breath before a hard sentence and click to the next slide, and in a five-minute speech those few seconds add up quickly.

Numbers cause trouble too. The calculator counts 2026 as one word, but you'll say it as "twenty twenty-six," which is three. A figure like $1,500 becomes "fifteen hundred dollars." A speech full of dates, prices or statistics will run longer than its word count suggests.

Write to about 90 percent of your limit. For a five-minute slot that means aiming for roughly 585 words at an average pace instead of the full 650, and the spare half minute absorbs the pauses.

How to time your own speech

1. Read the final draft out loud at the pace you plan to use on the day. Stand up if you'll be standing then.
2. Time it with your phone's stopwatch, or record yourself so you can hear where you rush.
3. Divide the word count by the minutes it took. A 650-word draft that took 4.5 minutes means you speak at about 144 words per minute.
4. Type that number into the words-per-minute box in the calculator above and use it to plan your next draft.

Do at least two runs and trust the later one. The first read-through includes stumbles you won't make on the day.

Speeches with a fixed time limit

Some formats enforce the clock. TED talks are capped at 18 minutes, and TED curator Chris Anderson told author Carmine Gallo the length is "long enough to be serious and short enough to hold people's attention." At 130 words per minute, 18 minutes is about 2,340 words. At the 173-word TED average, a speaker fits closer to 3,100.

The Three Minute Thesis competition, which began at the University of Queensland in 2008, gives graduate students three minutes and a single static slide to explain their research, and anyone who runs over is disqualified. That is about 390 words at an average pace, and the 90 percent rule suggests aiming nearer 350.

An elevator pitch is the shortest common format. Thirty seconds to a minute works out to about 65 to 130 words.

Frequently asked questions

How many words is a 5 minute speech?

About 650 words at an average pace of 130 words per minute. A slow speaker fits about 550 words and a fast one about 800.

How many words is a 3 minute speech?

About 390 words at 130 words per minute, or 330 to 480 depending on how fast you talk.

How many words is a 2 minute speech?

About 260 words at an average pace, ranging from 220 words for a slow speaker to 320 for a fast one.

How long is a 1,000 word speech?

About 7 minutes 40 seconds at 130 words per minute. At a fast 160 it takes about 6 minutes 15 seconds, and at a slow 110 about 9 minutes.

How many words per minute is a normal speech?

Most presentations fall between 100 and 150 words per minute. Everyday conversation in American English averages about 150, and popular TED speakers often go faster.

How many pages is a 5 minute speech?

About 2.6 pages double-spaced, or 1.3 pages single-spaced, for a 650-word speech in 12-point Times New Roman.