Narrator Rate Calculator
Target PFH from desired hourly rate and production ratio. Calculate your Per Finished Hour rate for audiobook narration projects.
Calculate NowCalculate Your Target PFH Rate
Finished Hours
Raw Hours
Target PFH
Tip: The production ratio accounts for editing, retakes, and other production time. A ratio of 2.5:1 means it takes 2.5 hours of raw work to produce 1 finished hour of audio.
Why Use Our Narrator Rate Calculator?
Set Fair Rates
Determine your target PFH rate based on your desired hourly wage and production efficiency, ensuring you're compensated fairly for your work.
Understand Production
Gain insights into how production ratios impact your effective hourly rate and overall profitability for audiobook projects.
Negotiate Confidently
Enter negotiations with authors and publishers armed with data about your costs and the value you bring to their project.
Check out More Tools
Pages to Hours Converter
Convert your book's page count to estimated audiobook hours based on industry standards and formatting.
Try NowAudiobook Time Calculator
Convert word count or pages to estimated audiobook length based on industry standards.
Try NowWords → Hours Converter
Quickly convert your manuscript word count to estimated audiobook hours with our easy calculator.
Try NowACX ROI Calculator
Calculate your potential return on investment for audiobooks distributed through ACX.
Try NowFrequently Asked Questions
The production ratio varies based on narrator experience and project complexity. For experienced narrators working with clean manuscripts, ratios of 2:1 to 3:1 are common. For complex material or less experienced narrators, ratios can be 4:1 or higher. This accounts for reading time, retakes, editing, and other production tasks.
Your desired hourly rate should reflect your experience, skill level, and the market rate for similar services. Consider your business expenses, taxes, and desired profit margin. Research what other narrators with similar experience are charging, and factor in the value you bring to the project.
Standard narration speeds are typically 150-160 words per minute for non-fiction and 140-150 for fiction. However, this can vary based on the narrator's style, content complexity, and desired pacing. Use your average reading speed for the most accurate results.
This calculator is designed for PFH (Per Finished Hour) projects. For royalty share projects, you'll need to consider the potential royalty earnings instead of upfront payment. However, you can use it to understand the equivalent PFH value of your time to evaluate if a royalty share offer is worth your while.
Need More Help?
Explore our comprehensive suite of audiobook calculators to make data-driven decisions about your projects.
Browse Calculators