Free on-screen text timing calculator

Give viewers time to read your message

Paste one on-screen text card per line. Choose an assumed reading pace and target edit length. The calculator returns sequential card timings and shows whether the text fits. Your text stays in this page and is not uploaded or stored by the tool.

Check your text timing

How the estimate works

For each card: word count ÷ chosen words per second + 0.5 seconds to orient to the new card. Each result rounds up to the nearest tenth of a second. The total is the sum of sequential card durations.

Choose 2, 2.5 or 3 words per second as an editing assumption. These are adjustable starting points, not researched platform limits or an accessibility guarantee. Familiarity, contrast, motion, language and the amount of detail in the image affect reading time.

Worked example: a 12-word text card

“See all the tasks that are due this week in one view” contains 12 words. At 2.5 words per second, allow 12 ÷ 2.5 + 0.5 = 5.3 seconds. A second card adds its own reading and orientation time.

If a 20-second edit needs 25 seconds of reading, shorten or split the message, extend the edit or remove a card. Speeding through more words is not evidence that people will understand them.

Review your actual edit on a phone

• Watch once with the sound off and read each card at a comfortable pace.
• Leave additional time for an unfamiliar interface or a visual action that needs attention.
• Keep text clear of interface controls and check the actual crop for your destination.
• Use captions as well when speech carries information. This calculator measures the text you provide; it does not transcribe audio.

Does this predict retention or virality?

No. It estimates reading time under the assumptions you choose. Test the finished edit, then compare actual viewer behaviour on your published posts. A readable message helps people follow a story, but no duration guarantees engagement or customers.

Continue with a useful next step