How to Use the Audiobook Calculator
Type the audiobook's running time in hours and minutes. Audible shows it on the book's page as the length. Then choose the speed you listen at. The answer updates as you type:
- At your speed is the running time divided by the playback speed.
- Time saved is the difference between the normal running time and your listening time.
- Time left counts only what you have not heard yet. Enter the position your player shows under Listened So Far.
- Days to finish and You finish on spread the time left over the minutes you listen each day, counting today as day one.
If the book has no audiobook yet, switch Start From to the word count. The calculator estimates the finished running time from the text, the way Audible's production marketplace does.
The calculator starts with a 10-hour audiobook at 1.5x: 6 h 40 min of listening, 3 h 20 min saved, and 14 days at half an hour a day.
Audiobook Length at 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x and 2x
A 10-hour audiobook takes 8 hours at 1.25x, 6 h 40 min at 1.5x and 5 hours at 2x. Common running times at the speeds listeners use, in hours and minutes:
| At 1x | 1.25x | 1.5x | 1.75x | 2x |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:00 | 2:24 | 2:00 | 1:43 | 1:30 |
| 5:00 | 4:00 | 3:20 | 2:51 | 2:30 |
| 8:00 | 6:24 | 5:20 | 4:34 | 4:00 |
| 10:00 | 8:00 | 6:40 | 5:43 | 5:00 |
| 12:00 | 9:36 | 8:00 | 6:51 | 6:00 |
| 15:00 | 12:00 | 10:00 | 8:34 | 7:30 |
| 20:00 | 16:00 | 13:20 | 11:26 | 10:00 |
| 25:00 | 20:00 | 16:40 | 14:17 | 12:30 |
| 30:00 | 24:00 | 20:00 | 17:09 | 15:00 |
| 40:00 | 32:00 | 26:40 | 22:51 | 20:00 |
For a length between two rows, or a speed such as 1.6x, enter it in the calculator above. The At Every Speed table beside the result shows the same five speeds for your book.
How Much Time Does a Faster Speed Save?
The saving is a fixed share of the book, whatever its length:
| Speed | Share of the running time saved | Saved per hour of audio |
|---|---|---|
| 1.25x | one fifth | 12 min |
| 1.5x | one third | 20 min |
| 1.75x | three sevenths | about 26 min |
| 2x | half | 30 min |
Each step up saves less than the one before it. Going from 1x to 1.5x takes 3 h 20 min off a 10-hour book; going on from 1.5x to 2x takes off another 1 h 40 min. If a narrator becomes hard to follow at 2x, 1.75x keeps most of the saving.
How Long Does It Take to Finish an Audiobook?
At half an hour a day, a 10-hour audiobook takes 20 days at normal speed, 14 days at 1.5x and 10 days at 2x. The same book at other daily habits:
| Listening a day | 1x | 1.5x | 2x |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 minutes | 40 days | 27 days | 20 days |
| 30 minutes | 20 days | 14 days | 10 days |
| 1 hour | 10 days | 7 days | 5 days |
A commute counts twice if you listen both ways. Put your own number in Minutes a Day You Listen and the calculator gives the date you reach the end.
How Long Is an Audiobook? Words to Finished Hours
ACX, Audible's marketplace for producing audiobooks, says most narrators perform about 9,300 words per hour and tells authors to divide the word count by that figure. An 80,000-word novel comes out at about 8 h 36 min of finished audio.
| Words in the book | Audiobook at 1x | At 1.5x |
|---|---|---|
| 20,000 | 2 h 9 min | 1 h 26 min |
| 40,000 | 4 h 18 min | 2 h 52 min |
| 50,000 | 5 h 23 min | 3 h 35 min |
| 60,000 | 6 h 27 min | 4 h 18 min |
| 70,000 | 7 h 32 min | 5 h 1 min |
| 80,000 | 8 h 36 min | 5 h 44 min |
| 90,000 | 9 h 41 min | 6 h 27 min |
| 100,000 | 10 h 45 min | 7 h 10 min |
| 120,000 | 12 h 54 min | 8 h 36 min |
| 150,000 | 16 h 8 min | 10 h 45 min |
The figure is an average. A narrator who voices many characters, or a book with long passages of dialogue, can run longer; a brisk nonfiction read can run shorter. The narrator also reads opening and closing credits, so the finished audiobook runs slightly longer than the text alone. To see how long the same book takes to read on the page, use the Reading Time Calculator; to find the word count of a printed book from its pages, use the Words to Pages Calculator.
For Authors: Production Time and Narration Budget
The running time is the number an audiobook budget is built on. Narrators and producers who work for a fee on ACX quote a rate per finished hour (PFH), so the fee is the finished hours times that rate. Enter a quote under For authors: narration rate and the calculator multiplies it out; at a rate of $250 per finished hour, an 80,000-word novel of about 8.6 finished hours comes to about $2,151.
ACX also gives a time estimate for producing each finished hour: about 2 hours of recording, 3 hours of editing and 1.2 hours of review, or 6.2 hours of work in total. The Production work row uses those figures, which is why a 10-hour audiobook means about 62 hours of a narrator's and an editor's time. That is the reason a PFH rate looks high next to the running time.
Before you ask for quotes, check the files and format your distributor expects in the guide to audiobook file formats, and how the ACX route works in ACX audiobooks for self-published authors. The tools authors use to record and edit their own narration are compared in audiobook production software.
How the Calculator Works
Listening time is the running time divided by the playback speed. Time saved is the running time minus the listening time. Time left is the part you have not heard, divided by the speed, and days to finish is that time divided by your daily minutes, rounded up.
When you start from a word count, the running time is the word count divided by ACX's 9,300 words per finished hour. Production work is the finished hours times 6.2, and the narration budget is the finished hours times the rate you enter. The calculator runs in your browser and sends nothing anywhere.
Audiobook Calculator FAQ
How long is a 10-hour audiobook at 1.5x speed?
6 hours 40 minutes. At 1.5x you hear an hour of audio every 40 minutes, so you save 3 h 20 min.
How long is a 10-hour audiobook at 2x speed?
5 hours. Double speed always halves the running time.
How long is an audiobook of an 80,000-word book?
About 8 h 36 min, using ACX's average of 9,300 words per finished hour, or 5 h 44 min at 1.5x.
How many words are in one hour of audiobook?
About 9,300 words, the average ACX gives for a professional narrator. That is about 155 words a minute.
How long does it take to produce one finished hour of audiobook?
About 6.2 hours, by ACX's estimate: 2 hours recording, 3 hours editing and 1.2 hours of review.
How do I work out how much of an audiobook is left?
Subtract the position your player shows from the total length and divide by your speed. Enter both in the calculator and it does this for you, along with the day you finish.
