October 21, 2026

Song Length Calculator

Turn BPM and bars into minutes and seconds, plan a whole song section by section, or paste a tracklist to add up an album's length, make YouTube timestamps and check whether it fits on a CD or vinyl. Free, with no sign-up.

Tempo (BPM)Time signature

One bar = 2.00 s · one beat = 500 ms

How long are this many bars?

bars

2:08

128.0 seconds · 256 beats

How many bars for a target length?

minutes:seconds

90 bars

Exactly 90.0. The nearest multiple of 8 is 88 bars (2:56).

Song structure

0:00bars
0:08bars
0:40bars
0:48bars
1:04bars
1:36bars
1:44bars
2:00bars
2:16bars
2:32bars

2:40

80 bars at 120 BPM

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How to Calculate Song Length From BPM and Bars

Multiply the number of bars by the beats in each bar, then divide by the BPM. That gives you minutes:

Length (minutes) = Bars × Beats per bar ÷ BPM

A 64-bar song in 4/4 at 120 BPM is 64 × 4 ÷ 120 = 2.13 minutes, which is 2 minutes 8 seconds. Going the other way, a bar of 4/4 lasts 240 ÷ BPM seconds, so it's exactly 2 seconds at 120 BPM. DAWs count BPM in quarter notes, so a bar of 6/8 (six eighth notes) lasts as long as three beats.

How Long Is 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 Bars?

In 4/4 time, at common tempos:

BPM	4 bars	8 bars	16 bars	32 bars	64 bars
90	10.7 s	21.3 s	42.7 s	1:25	2:51
100	9.6 s	19.2 s	38.4 s	1:17	2:34
120	8.0 s	16.0 s	32.0 s	1:04	2:08
128	7.5 s	15.0 s	30.0 s	1:00	2:00
140	6.9 s	13.7 s	27.4 s	54.9 s	1:50
170	5.6 s	11.3 s	22.6 s	45.2 s	1:30

How Many Bars Is a 3 Minute Song?

90 bars at 120 BPM in 4/4. The faster the song, the more bars it takes to fill the same time: 3 minutes is 75 bars at 100 BPM, 96 bars at 128 BPM and 105 bars at 140 BPM. Producers usually round to a multiple of 8, since sections tend to come in 8 or 16 bars. Type a target length into the calculator to get the bars for your tempo.

How Long Is the Average Song?

About three and a half minutes for a hit today. The #1 songs of 2025 averaged 3 minutes 29 seconds, the same as in 2024, according to the chart analysts at Hit Songs Deconstructed. Shorter is common too: under three minutes was the most common length among 2025's top-10 hits.

Streaming is part of the reason. Spotify counts a play after 30 seconds, so a tight song that gets to the hook quickly and loops easily does well. At 120 BPM, three and a half minutes is about 105 bars.

How Long Can an Album Be?

On streaming services, as long as you like. Physical formats have hard limits:

Format	Fits	Good to know
CD (74 minutes)	74 min	The original audio CD standard, and plays in every CD player
CD (80 minutes)	80 min	Most plants go to 79:59, but discs over about 74 minutes may not play in every player
12-inch vinyl LP at 33⅓	22 min a side	18–20 minutes a side sounds best; 22 is about the limit before it gets quieter and thinner
12-inch vinyl at 45 rpm	12 min a side	Louder and clearer, at about 9–12 minutes a side
7-inch single at 45 rpm	4.5 min a side	3½–4 minutes a side sounds best; about 4½ is the limit at most plants
Cassette (C60)	30 min a side	The number is the total for both sides: 30 minutes a side
Cassette (C90)	45 min a side	45 minutes a side, the longest tape most duplicators make

Single, EP or Album: What Counts as What?

Spotify and Apple Music decide by the number of tracks and the total length, and distributors follow the same rules:

Single: 1–3 tracks, under 30 minutes in total. Apple Music also wants every track under 10 minutes.
EP: 4–6 tracks, 30 minutes or less in total. Apple Music also counts 1–3 tracks as an EP when one runs 10 minutes or more.
Album: 7 or more tracks, or more than 30 minutes in total.

Paste your tracklist into the Add up song times tab above and it tells you which one your release counts as. Need the tempo first? The BPM and key finder reads it straight from the audio file.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate song length from BPM?

Multiply the number of bars by the beats in each bar, then divide by the BPM to get minutes. In 4/4, 64 bars at 120 BPM is 64 × 4 ÷ 120 = 2.13 minutes, or 2:08.

How many bars is a 3 minute song?

At 120 BPM in 4/4, 90 bars. Faster songs need more bars for the same length: 3 minutes is 105 bars at 140 BPM and 75 bars at 100 BPM.

How long is 16 bars?

At 120 BPM in 4/4, 16 bars lasts 32 seconds. At 90 BPM it's about 43 seconds, and at 140 BPM about 27 seconds.

How many songs make an EP?

4 to 6 tracks totalling 30 minutes or less, on both Spotify and Apple Music. 1 to 3 tracks is a single, and 7 or more tracks, or over 30 minutes, is an album. Apple Music also counts 1 to 3 tracks as an EP if one runs 10 minutes or more.

How many minutes fit on a CD?

74 minutes under the original audio CD standard. Most CDs made today hold up to 79:59, but discs longer than about 74 minutes may not play in every player.

How many minutes fit on a vinyl record?

About 18 to 22 minutes a side on a 12-inch LP at 33⅓ rpm, so roughly 40 to 44 minutes in all. Longer sides can be cut, but they sound quieter and thinner. A 7-inch single at 45 rpm holds about 4 to 4½ minutes a side.

How long is the average song?

About three and a half minutes for a hit: the #1 songs of 2025 averaged 3 minutes 29 seconds, according to the chart analysts at Hit Songs Deconstructed. Under three minutes was the most common length among 2025's top-10 hits.

How do I add up the length of an album?

Open the Add up song times tab and paste the track lengths, one per line. It totals them, shows where each track starts, makes YouTube timestamps, and checks whether the album fits a CD, vinyl or cassette.