BYTETOOLS

Screenplay Page Calculator

Estimate script pages and screen time from pasted screenplay text. Classifies every element and wraps it at industry widths to count the typed lines.

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Pages
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Estimated screen time
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Typed lines
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Scenes

Paste a scene or a full script above. Elements are separated by blank lines, the way spec scripts are typed.

Elements are identified from spec-script conventions: a scene heading starts with INT./EXT., a character cue is a short all-caps line, a parenthetical is wrapped in brackets, and the block after either of those is dialogue. Spacing assumes one blank line between elements and two before a scene heading. The one-page-per-minute rule is a rule of thumb — dialogue-heavy pages play faster than action-heavy ones.

What is the Screenplay Page Calculator?

One page of correctly formatted screenplay is roughly one minute of screen time — but only if the page really is correctly formatted.

  • Automatic classification of scene headings, action, character cues, parentheticals, dialogue and transitions
  • Word wrapping at industry widths — 60 characters for action, 35 for dialogue
  • Editable lines per page, element widths and minutes per page
  • Page count and estimated runtime in hours and minutes
  • Share of page space by element type, so you can see dialogue-to-action balance
  • Runs entirely in your browser — your script is never uploaded

How to use the Screenplay Page Calculator

  1. 1

    Paste your script, leaving a blank line between each element as in a spec script.

  2. 2

    Adjust lines per page, action width, dialogue width and minutes per page if your template differs.

  3. 3

    Read the page count and estimated screen time in the stats row.

  4. 4

    Check the element breakdown to see how much of the page space is dialogue versus action.

  5. 5

    Scan the classification table to confirm each block was read as the element you intended.

About the Screenplay Page Calculator

One page of correctly formatted screenplay is roughly one minute of screen time — but only if the page really is correctly formatted. This calculator reads your pasted script, works out what each block is, wraps it at the industry width for that element, and counts the typed lines to give you a page count and an estimated runtime.

Scene headings are recognised from INT. and EXT., character cues from short all-caps lines, parentheticals from brackets, and the block after either of those is treated as dialogue; everything else is action. Action wraps at 60 characters and dialogue at 35, matching 12pt Courier with standard margins, and the line widths, lines per page and minutes per page are all editable if your template differs.

The whole calculation happens in your browser. Your script is never uploaded, nothing is stored, and the calculator keeps working offline once the page has loaded — safe for unproduced work.

Frequently asked questions

Is one screenplay page really one minute?

It is a reliable average across a whole feature, but not scene by scene. Dialogue pages typically play faster than a minute and dense action pages slower, so a 110-page script lands close to 110 minutes even though individual scenes vary a lot.

How many lines fit on a screenplay page?

About 55 typed lines, from 12pt Courier at six lines per inch with one-inch top and bottom margins on US Letter. That is the default here, and you can change it if your template uses different margins.

How does the tool know what each block is?

It uses spec-script conventions: a scene heading starts with INT. or EXT., a character cue is a short all-caps line, a parenthetical is wrapped in brackets, and the block immediately after a cue or parenthetical is dialogue. Everything else is action.

Do I need to format my script perfectly first?

No, but you do need a blank line between elements, which is how scripts are typed anyway. The classification table shows what the tool made of every block, so you can spot anything it read wrongly before trusting the total.

Why is my page count different from Final Draft?

Dedicated screenwriting software applies page-break rules — keeping a character cue with its dialogue, adding CONTINUED markers — that add a little length. Expect this estimate to run slightly short of a formatted PDF, usually by a few percent.

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