The conversion in one line
An audiobook is a book read aloud at a steady rate, so its length follows from the number of words. A page is a handful of words. Chain the two and you can convert in either direction:
hours = pages × words per page ÷ 9,300 9,300 is 155 words per minute × 60 minutes. Audible and ACX use that rate to estimate audiobook length; some narrators report 150 words per minute (9,000 an hour) as a better average.
Two inputs carry nearly all the uncertainty. Words per page depends on trim size, type size, margins and how much dialogue or white space the layout leaves; this site uses 300 (the figure behind ReadPace and NextRead), and 250 to 350 covers most printed books. Narrator speed varies with the text and the performance: the same estimate can miss the finished running time by an hour or more on a long book.1
Converter: audiobook hours and pages
Pick a direction, enter a length and adjust the two uncertain inputs. The address bar updates, so you can copy it and send the exact result.
Audiobook converter
Runs in your browserLookup tables
If you only need a rough figure, read it off these tables. Both use the 155 words-per-minute convention.
| Audio hours | 250 words/page | 300 words/page | 350 words/page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 186 | 155 | 133 |
| 8 | 298 | 248 | 213 |
| 10 | 372 | 310 | 266 |
| 12 | 446 | 372 | 319 |
| 15 | 558 | 465 | 399 |
| 20 | 744 | 620 | 531 |
| 30 | 1,116 | 930 | 797 |
| Pages | Words | Hours at 1× | Hours at 1.5× |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150 | 45,000 | 4.8 | 3.2 |
| 200 | 60,000 | 6.5 | 4.3 |
| 300 | 90,000 | 9.7 | 6.5 |
| 400 | 120,000 | 12.9 | 8.6 |
| 500 | 150,000 | 16.1 | 10.8 |
| 700 | 210,000 | 22.6 | 15.1 |
| 1,000 | 300,000 | 32.3 | 21.5 |
Why your audiobook will not match the math
The conversion is a good estimate, not a measurement. When a real audiobook is shorter or longer than the table says, the usual causes are:
- Narrator pace. The 155 words per minute figure is an average. A brisk thriller narration and a slow, careful non-fiction one can differ by a fifth or more.
- Page density. A large-type edition and a small-type academic edition of the same text can differ by a hundred pages. Use the words-per-page selector to match your edition.
- Print-only material. Printed non-fiction often ends with notes, a bibliography and an index that an audiobook usually skips, so the print page count overshoots the audio.
- Abridgements and extras. An abridged audiobook is shorter than its print edition; introductions, credits and author notes add minutes.
- Ebooks have no fixed pages. An ebook’s page count changes with the reader’s font size, so compare words, not pages, when you can.
Is listening faster than reading?
At normal speed, no. A narrator at 155 words per minute is about 1.5 times slower than the 238 words per minute an average adult reads non-fiction silently.2 But playback speed closes the gap: at 1.5× the narrator is effectively speaking about 232 words per minute, almost exactly the average silent reading speed.
Using it with a reading goal
Reading goals are usually set in books or pages, and audiobooks are measured in hours, so listening can quietly fall out of the count. Converting fixes that:
- Convert once per book. A 12-hour audiobook is about 372 pages at 300 words a page.
- Log it as pages. NextRead tracks the page you are on and a yearly goal in books and pages, so converted audio hours sit in the same total as print and ebooks.
- Plan the year from minutes. If you listen on a commute, the books-a-year calculator has a listening-speed preset and shows how many books a daily listening habit adds up to.
Questions people ask
How many pages is a 10-hour audiobook?
About 310 printed pages at 300 words a page, or roughly 265 to 370 pages across 250 to 350 words a page. The 155 words-per-minute convention gives 93,000 words for 10 hours.
How many pages is a 5-hour audiobook?
About 155 printed pages at 300 words a page, or roughly 133 to 186 pages across 250 to 350 words a page.
How long is a 300-page audiobook?
About 9.7 hours at 300 words a page and 155 words per minute. A 300-page book with airier pages (250 words) runs about 8 hours, and one with dense pages (350 words) about 11.3 hours.
How many words are in an hour of audiobook?
About 9,300, which is 155 words per minute times 60. Audible and ACX use that rate to estimate audiobook length; some narrators report 150 words per minute (9,000 an hour) as a better average.
Is listening at 1.5× as fast as reading?
For an average reader, about the same. At 1.5× a 155 words-per-minute narrator delivers about 232 words per minute, close to the 238 words per minute average silent reading speed for non-fiction.
Why is my audiobook longer or shorter than the formula says?
The formula uses an average narrator and an average page. Real recordings differ with narrator pace, abridgement, introductions and credits, and printed editions differ in page density and in print-only material such as notes and indexes, so expect the estimate to be off by 10% or more on some books.
Does listening to an audiobook count as reading?
That is up to you or the challenge you are following. If you track a single goal in pages or books, converting audiobook hours to pages with the converter above puts listening and reading on the same scale.
Put the plan to work
For a closer look at the assumptions, read our word-count and reading-time guide, then use Word Counter to compare a sample of your own material. The reading collection connects discovery, planning and private tracking.
Sources
- Commins, K. (2011). Simple math about audiobook rates. Audible and ACX use 155 words per minute (9,300 words per finished hour) to estimate length; actual finished time can differ by an hour or more.
- Brysbaert, M. (2019). How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate. Journal of Memory and Language, 109, 104047. Source of 238 wpm (non-fiction) and 260 wpm (fiction).