PlaylistTime / Audiobooks
Audiobook speed calculator
The audiobook calculator for listeners: time at 1.25x, 1.5x or 2x, how much is left from your percentage, when you will finish, and how many pages it is.
Listening time
You finish
Narration pace
words per minute, approx.
| Speed | Length | Time saved |
|---|
Audiobook percentage and time left calculator
Know how far you are? Enter the book's length and your progress as a percentage, the time listened, or the time left your app shows.
Type the audiobook length and your progress.
Audiobook time to page calculator
Roughly how many pages and words an audiobook is, from its length, or how long a book of a given page count takes to listen to. Adjust the narration pace and page size for your book.
Type an audiobook length or a page count.
Audiobook playback speed chart
How long common audiobook lengths take at each playback speed. Use the audiobook speed calculator above for your exact book.
| Length at 1x | 1.25x | 1.5x | 1.75x | 2x |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 hours | 6h 24m | 5h 20m | 4h 34m | 4h 00m |
| 10 hours | 8h 00m | 6h 40m | 5h 43m | 5h 00m |
| 12 hours | 9h 36m | 8h 00m | 6h 51m | 6h 00m |
| 15 hours | 12h 00m | 10h 00m | 8h 34m | 7h 30m |
| 20 hours | 16h 00m | 13h 20m | 11h 26m | 10h 00m |
How the audiobook time calculator works
Listening time = length ÷ speed. At 1.25x you save 20% of the time, at 1.5x a third, and at 2x half. A typical 10-hour novel takes 8 hours at 1.25x, 6 hours 40 minutes at 1.5x and 5 hours at 2x.
Audiobook reading speed: words per minute
Narrators usually read at around 150 to 160 words per minute, slower than most people read silently (often 200 to 300). That is why many listeners find 1.25x to 1.5x comfortable once they get used to it. The calculator shows your listening pace in words per minute at the speed you choose, so you can compare it with your own reading speed.
Audiobook length of popular books
Looking up a specific book? These pages give the exact unabridged length, the time at every speed and the days it takes: Project Hail Mary, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Wind and Truth, Harry Potter, The Wheel of Time, Dune and many more audiobook lengths.
Tips for listening faster
- Raise the speed in small steps (0.1x) every few days. Your ear adapts quickly.
- Slow down for dense non-fiction or unfamiliar accents, speed up for familiar genres.
- Use the minutes-a-day box to set a realistic finish date, such as before a book club.
Watching a course or lecture series instead? Use the playlist length calculator or the watch time calculator.
Questions
How do I calculate audiobook time at a different speed?
Divide the audiobook length by the playback speed. The audiobook speed calculator does this for you: type the length, pick a speed, and it shows the new listening time, the time saved and a full table of speeds.
How long is an audiobook at 1.5x speed?
Divide the length by 1.5. A 12-hour audiobook takes 8 hours at 1.5x, 9 hours 36 minutes at 1.25x and 6 hours at 2x.
What speed do most people listen to audiobooks at?
Many listeners settle between 1.2x and 1.5x, where narration still sounds natural but saves a lot of time. Start at 1.25x and go up 0.1x at a time as your ear adjusts.
How many words per minute is an audiobook?
Narrators usually read at roughly 150 to 160 words per minute. At 1.5x that becomes about 225 to 240, and at 2x about 300 to 320.
How do I find my audiobook's length?
Your audiobook app shows the total length on the book's page, and stores list it under the title as "Length". Type it here in any format, like 11h 32m or 11:32:00.
How many pages is an audiobook hour?
At a typical narration pace of about 155 words a minute, one hour is roughly 9,300 words, or about 34 pages of a printed book with 275 words a page. Use the converter on this page to adjust both numbers for your book.
How do I work out what percentage of an audiobook I have finished?
Divide the time you have listened by the total length. In the audiobook percentage calculator on this page, enter the length and either your percentage, the time listened or the time left, and it works out the rest.
How much time is left in my audiobook?
Subtract what you have listened from the total, then divide by your playback speed. If your app shows a percentage instead, the percentage calculator above turns it into hours and minutes left.
When will I finish my audiobook?
Enter how many minutes you listen each day. The calculator works out how many days it takes at your speed and the date you will finish.
Does listening faster hurt comprehension?
Up to around 1.5x most people understand just as well once they are used to it. Beyond 2x it depends on the narrator, the book and the listener, so speed up gradually.