Subtitle Timing Calculator
Calculate characters per second, reading speed, and compliance with subtitle standards (Netflix, BBC) for video subtitling.
Inputs
Results
Characters per Second
15 CPS
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter the subtitle text and its start and end timecodes.
- Review the reading speed in characters per second and words per minute.
- Check that reading speed falls in the 15-25 CPS range (17 CPS is the broadcast standard).
- Adjust the end timecode to give slower readers adequate time if speed exceeds 21 CPS.
- Use the maximum line length output to split subtitles that exceed the screen width limit.
How the result changes with Display Duration (seconds)
| Display Duration (seconds) | Characters per Second |
|---|---|
| 1.95 | 30.77 CPS |
| 5.57 | 10.77 CPS |
| 9.93 | 6.04 CPS |
| 14 | 4.29 CPS |
What each input means
- Character Count
- Total characters in the subtitle, including spaces.
- Display Duration (seconds)
- How long the subtitle appears on screen.
- Words in Subtitle
- Number of words in the subtitle text.
- Number of Lines
- Number of subtitle lines displayed. Industry standard is max 2.
What each result means
- Characters per Second
- Target: under 17 CPS (comfortable), max 20 CPS (Netflix standard).
- Standards Compliant
- 1 = compliant (under 20 CPS, max 2 lines), 0 = non-compliant.
- Recommended Duration
- Suggested display time at 15 CPS for comfortable reading.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersCharacter Count = 60, Display Duration (seconds) = 4, Words in Subtitle = 12, Number of Lines = 2 = 4 input(s) provided
- Calculate Characters per SecondCharacters per Second15 = 15
- Calculate Words per MinuteWords per Minute180 = 180
- Calculate Reading SpeedReading Speed180 = 180
Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators.
Related Calculators
The questions that sit next to this one — chosen by subject, including calculators filed under a different category.
Readability Score Calculator
Calculate multiple readability indices including Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade, Gunning Fog, Coleman-Liau, and Automated Readability Index.
Linguistics & TranslationLocalization Cost Calculator
Estimate translation and localization costs based on word count, language pair difficulty, deadline urgency, and subject specialization.
Linguistics & TranslationPhonetic Transcription Calculator
Estimate phoneme count, transcription time, and complexity score for IPA transcription based on word characteristics.
More in Education & Academics.