A narrator’s quote
Type in the PFH rate and hours from a quote to see the full figure, then set it against AI narration for the same book.
Free tool
Audiobook Cost Calculator: Narrator Rates Against AI Credits
Set the finished length, a narrator’s per finished hour rate and what editing and mastering cost, and this audiobook cost calculator puts the total next to AI narration on any of four voice tiers. Every figure updates as you move a slider, so you can test a real quote in seconds.
Human narration
$3,000
8 h × $375
AI narration
$71 to 98
3,960 credits
Human narrator + production$3,000
AI narration (Standard)$98
You save about $2,902 with AI narration. AI price range uses Studio and Starter plan credit prices.
Price your own bookPricing a book in the audiobook production cost calculator
- 1
Set the finished length
Drag the slider from 1 to 40 hours. Only have a word count? Divide it by about 9,300, or use the audiobook length calculator.
- 2
Enter the narrator rate
Type the per finished hour (PFH) rate from a real quote. The default of $300 is only a placeholder to replace.
- 3
Add editing and mastering
Enter what editing, proofing and mastering cost per finished hour, or set it to 0 if the narrator’s rate already includes them.
- 4
Pick an AI voice tier
Choose Standard, Lite, Premium or Expressive. The human total, the AI price range, the credits and the difference update together.
AI narration cost per finished hour, by voice tier
The figures the audiobook cost calculator uses: about 55,000 characters per finished hour, priced between the Studio and Starter plan rates per credit.
| Voice tier | Credits per 1,000 characters | Credits per finished hour | Cost per finished hour | 10 hour book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | 6 | 330 | $6 to $8 | $59 to $82 |
| Standard | 9 | 495 | $9 to $12 | $88 to $123 |
| Premium | 13 | 715 | $13 to $18 | $127 to $177 |
| Expressive | 34 | 1,870 | $33 to $46 | $333 to $463 |
Low end: the Studio plan, $49.90 for 2,800 credits. High end: the Starter plan, $9.90 for 400 credits. Current plans are on the pricing page.
Human narration totals at common PFH rates
Narrator rates vary widely with experience, genre and union status. Use these rows as a narration cost calculator shortcut; each adds $75 per finished hour for editing and mastering.
| Narrator rate (PFH) | With editing | 8 hour book | 12 hour book |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100 | $175 per hour | $1,400 | $2,100 |
| $200 | $275 per hour | $2,200 | $3,300 |
| $300 | $375 per hour | $3,000 | $4,500 |
| $400 | $475 per hour | $3,800 | $5,700 |
Royalty share deals pay the narrator from sales instead of upfront, so they cost nothing at the start but split income for years. Check the platform’s current terms before you agree to one.
What people check with an audiobook cost estimator
An audiobook narrator cost calculator is most useful when there is a real decision on the table.
A whole series
Price one book, then multiply. A five book series is where the gap between human and AI narration grows largest.
A backlist
Older titles rarely justify a four figure narration bill. A low per hour cost can make an audio edition of each one worthwhile.
The right voice tier
Compare Standard, Premium and Expressive for the same length and decide where the extra emotion is worth the credits.
Which plan fits
Starter’s 400 monthly credits cover about 48 minutes of Standard narration, Pro’s 1,300 about 2.6 hours and Studio’s 2,800 about 5.7 hours.
A serial’s monthly budget
For a web serial, enter one month of chapters as hours to see what each month of audio episodes will cost.
The formulas behind the audiobook cost calculator
Human narration is priced per finished hour: cost = finished hours × (narrator PFH + editing PFH). An 8 hour book at $300 plus $75 for editing is 8 × $375 = $3,000. A finished hour is one hour of final audio, not the four to six hours of recording and editing it may take to produce.
AI narration is priced by characters: credits = finished hours × 55 × credits per 1,000 characters, because a finished hour holds about 55,000 characters. The same 8 hours on Standard voices is 8 × 55 × 9 = 3,960 credits, which costs about $71 to $98 depending on your plan’s price per credit.
To start from words instead of hours, divide the word count by 9,300 (155 words per minute × 60). A 70,000 word novel is about 7.5 finished hours: roughly $2,800 at $375 per hour with a narrator, or about $66 to $92 with Standard AI voices.
What the totals leave out
Neither side includes cover art, distribution fees or your own time listening through the book. On the AI side, budget a few percent extra for regenerating lines you want to change. On the human side, retakes are usually covered by the narrator’s rate, but changes to the text after recording often are not.
After the audiobook narration cost calculator
For the wider picture, including royalty share, self-narration and what distributors take, read how much does it cost to make an audiobook. If you are still choosing between a narrator and AI on quality rather than price, AI vs human narrator compares them fairly.
The surest way to check the numbers is to hear a short sample. Upload your book to the AI audiobook generator, let it cast every character, and generate a short sample with the 100 gift credits (valid for 7 days, about 12 minutes on Standard; usage varies by text and voice tier) that come with a Google sign-up. Estimate the full book from its billable characters and voice tiers, allowing for per-line rounding and regenerated lines. Chapter count alone cannot predict the cost.
Audiobook cost calculator FAQ
What does per finished hour (PFH) mean?
It is the standard way narrators and studios price audiobooks: a rate for each hour of final, edited audio. A 9 hour book at $250 PFH costs $2,250 for narration, however long the recording sessions actually took.
Is the AI figure exactly what I will pay?
It is close. The real cost depends on the characters in your text, the plan you buy and how many lines you regenerate. The audiobook cost calculator shows a range from the cheapest to the dearest price per credit for that reason.
What does a 10 hour audiobook cost with AI voices?
About $88 to $123 with Standard voices, $127 to $177 with Premium and $333 to $463 with Expressive. A human narrator at $300 PFH plus $75 for editing would be $3,750 for the same book.
Why is the Expressive tier so much more expensive?
It runs on ElevenLabs v3, the most emotional model, at 34 credits per 1,000 characters against 9 for Standard. It earns its price in dialogue-heavy fiction with laughter, whispers and grief; for steady narration, Standard is usually enough.
Does regenerating a line cost extra?
Yes, but only for that line. Regenerating a sentence of 100 characters on Standard voices costs about one credit, because credits are charged per 1,000 characters. The rest of the chapter is not regenerated.
Is the audiobook cost calculator free?
Yes. There is nothing to sign up for, and every number is worked out in your browser, so the quotes and rates you enter stay private.
Price it, then hear it
Take the total from the audiobook cost calculator and generate a short sample free, no card needed.