Playback Speed Calculator

How to Use the Playback Speed Calculator

1. Type the length into the box: 1h 30m, 1:30:00, 45:00 or just 90 for 90 minutes. Or tap a quick length (30m, 45m, 1h, 1h 30m or 2h).
2. Watching on YouTube? Paste the video link instead and press Get length. The calculator pulls the exact length for you, including Shorts and live stream replays.
3. Pick a playback speed from 0.25x to 4x, or type a custom speed like 1.6x.
4. Read your watch time and time saved, plus a table with the watch time, time saved and percentage saved at 0.5x, 0.75x, 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x, 2x, 2.5x and 3x. Tap any row to switch to that speed.
5. Short on time? Enter how long you have under Find the speed you need, and it shows the speed that gets you through in time.

Playback Speed Formula

Playback speed tells you how many seconds of video you get through every real second. At 1.5x you hear 1.5 seconds of video each second, so you divide the length by the speed:

For example, a 60-minute video played at 1.5x takes 60 ÷ 1.5 = 40 minutes, which saves 20 minutes (33%). At 2x it takes 30 minutes, and at 0.5x it takes 120 minutes. To do it in your head, convert the length to minutes first: a 1 hour 30 minute video is 90 minutes, so at 1.5x it takes 90 ÷ 1.5 = 60 minutes.

To work backwards from the time you have, divide the length by that time. Getting through an 80-minute lecture in 50 minutes takes 80 ÷ 50 = 1.6x. If the answer falls between your player's speeds, round up, not down, or you'll run over: a 1-hour video in 45 minutes needs 1.33x, so pick 1.35x.

Playback Speed Chart

How long a video, lecture, podcast or audiobook takes at faster speeds, every 5 minutes up to 2 hours and then up to 12 hours (rounded to the nearest second):

How Much Time Does Each Speed Save?

The percentage you save is the same for any length, so it's the easiest way to compare speeds. Here it is for every hour of video:

Notice that each step up saves less than the one before. Going from 1x to 1.5x saves 20 minutes an hour, but going from 1.5x to 2x only saves another 10, and 2x to 3x another 10. For most talking-head videos, 1.25x to 1.5x is the sweet spot: you still catch everything and save a fifth to a third of the time. Save 2x and above for content you already know well, and slow down for tutorials you follow step by step.

Works for Podcasts, Audiobooks, Lectures and Courses

The maths is the same for anything with a length. Type the length of a podcast episode, an audiobook, a recorded lecture or a whole online course into the calculator. A 10-hour audiobook at 1.5x takes 6h 40m, and a 12-hour course at 1.25x takes 9h 36m.

Where to change playback speed

Listening to an audiobook? The audiobook speed calculator also shows how much you have left and the day you'll finish, and works from a page count.

Got a whole playlist to get through? The playlist length calculator adds up every video and shows the total at each speed.