One page per minute is a starting point, not a law. Exact page targets and runtime math for features, half-hour and hour-long TV, shorts and ads.
Free script time calculator12 articles
The one-page-per-minute rule holds within about 5% for balanced standard-format scripts, but drifts 10-20% for dialogue-heavy or action-heavy scripts. Here is when to trust it and when to override it.
A music video treatment runs 1 to 3 pages of prose plus 8 to 15 pages total with mood board images. Here is why timing means song structure, not runtime.
A 30-second commercial runs about 60 to 75 spoken words, a 60-second spot 130 to 150. Here is the words-per-second convention and why silence and read pace change the real count.
A 5-minute short runs about 5 pages, a 10-minute short 9 to 11, and a 15-minute short 14 to 16. Here is why short film page counts have the least slack of any format.
A 2-hour movie script runs about 110 to 125 pages, with 118 to 122 the safest professional target. Here is the genre breakdown and why the 125-page ceiling is partly psychological.
A 30-minute script runs 22 to 38 pages depending on camera format and platform. Here is the band by format and why multi-cam, single-cam, and streaming half-hours differ.
A 90-page script runs about 90 minutes, the one-page-per-minute baseline for a feature. Here is how genre and content mix shift that number in practice.
The fastest accurate way to time a screenplay: page count, the one-page-per-minute rule, and the dialogue vs action adjustments that keep your estimate honest.
Feature, TV pilot, short film, micro-budget: the exact page count range for every format, why the one-page-per-minute rule holds, and what actually moves your number.
Micro-budget features live or die on page count and door count. Target bands, two-location strategies, and the math that keeps your indie feature shootable in twelve days.
Half-hour and hour-long pilots use different page bands for a reason. 2026 targets by format, how to audit act modules, and fixes when coverage says you read short or long.
90 to 120 pages. 100 to 110 as the sweet spot. What those numbers mean, where they come from, and what's changed with streaming.