YouTube Video Length Calculator
Add up intro, main points and outro to plan a video length, or turn average view duration into percent watched.
The hook and any short opening.
How many parts the video is made of.
Include pauses, demos and b-roll for that point.
Keep end screens in mind: they sit in the last 5 to 20 seconds.
I know the length I want
Shows how long each point can be.
About 8:10
Intro 0:20, 5 points at 1:30 each (7:30), outro 0:20. Total 8:10.
- Intro 4%
- Points 92%
- Outro 4%
- This is 8 minutes or longer. Check YouTube Help for the current mid-roll ad rules if your channel is monetized.
To turn this length into a word budget, use the Word Count Calculator, or the Script Generator to split it into timed sections.
Good to know
- There is no best video length. This tool does not guess one from your niche. It adds up the parts you list, or turns two numbers from YouTube Studio into a percentage.
- The plan counts the time of each part as you will edit it. Add pauses, demos and b-roll to the seconds per point, not on top of them.
- YouTube lets monetized channels place mid-roll ads in longer videos, and the length that unlocks them is 8 minutes at the time of writing. Check YouTube Help for the current rule. Adding empty minutes to pass 8 usually costs you viewers.
- Average view duration and the retention graph are in YouTube Studio, under Analytics. Percent watched here is only the first divided by the second.
Related Tools
Watch Time Calculator
Work out the views needed to close a watch-hour gap, or the hours some views will add.
Video Script Generator
Plan a YouTube script: set your video length and main points, get timed sections with word budgets, and write under each heading. Free, no signup.
Script Word Count Calculator
Work out how many words a video of a given length needs, or how long your script takes to say. Use your own speaking pace. Free, no signup.
Engagement Rate Calculator
Work out (likes + comments + shares) ÷ views for a video and compare it with your earlier videos.
About the Video Length Calculator
?What the video length planner does
It does two jobs. It adds up the parts of a video you list (intro, main points, outro) into a total length, and it turns the average view duration from YouTube Studio into the share of the video people watch.
It does not tell you the best length for your niche. Nobody can know that without your audience data, so the tool only does arithmetic on numbers you type. Everything runs in your browser.
→How to plan a video's length in 4 steps
List the parts
Enter the intro seconds, how many main points or steps the video has, and the outro seconds.
Set the time for each point
Include pauses, demos and b-roll in the seconds you give each point.
Read the total
The tool shows the total length and how it splits between intro, points and outro.
Or start from a length
Open “I know the length I want” to see how many seconds each point can take, then use that number.
✓What is in the tool
Total from parts
Intro plus points plus outro, shown as m:ss.
Work back from a target
Gives the seconds per point that fill a length you want.
Where the time goes
A bar and percentages for intro, points and outro.
Percent watched
Video length and average view duration from Studio, divided.
Copyable summary
One line you can paste into your notes.
Private
Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
★Examples
Planning a tutorial
A 20 second intro, 5 steps at 90 seconds each and a 20 second outro.
Example:
20 + 450 + 20 = 490 seconds, which is 8:10.
Hitting a target length
You want 10 minutes with 5 points, a 20 second intro and a 20 second outro.
Example:
600 − 40 = 560 seconds left, so about 112 seconds for each point.
Checking how much is watched
A 12:30 video with an average view duration of 4:45.
Example:
285 ÷ 750 = 38% of the video watched on average.
♥Limits to know about
Not a best-length guide
No fixed length suits every niche or every video.
Planning figures
The real edit will differ from the plan, so check the finished cut.
Your Studio data decides
Percent watched is only a division. The retention graph shows where people leave.