Teleprompter for YouTube videos
Paste your video script, pick a speed and read it while you look at the lens. Free, no sign-up, and your script never leaves this browser.
110 words · about 47 sec at 140 wpm
Opens full screen. Space pauses, arrow keys change speed, Esc closes. Nothing is uploaded — your script stays in this browser.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Space · K · B | Play / pause |
|---|---|
| ↑ / ↓ | Faster / slower (10 wpm) |
| ← / → | Nudge back / forward one line |
| Page Up / Page Down | Nudge three lines (clickers, foot pedals) |
| + / − | Bigger / smaller text |
| M | Mirror |
| F | Full screen |
| R · Home | Back to start |
| Esc | Close |
Wheel or drag to move the text by hand. Tap the text to pause.
How to use a teleprompter for YouTube
This works with any camera you already use: a phone, a webcam or a mirrorless camera on a tripod.
-
Paste or open your script
Paste it into the editor or open a .txt file. The editor shows the word count and how long the script takes to read at your current speed.
-
Set the speed to about 140 wpm
That is the default and close to a relaxed YouTube delivery. Explainers and tutorials often sit around 130 to 150. If you talk faster on camera, nudge it up with the arrow keys.
-
Put the reading line near the top
The top reading line keeps your eyes close to the camera when the screen sits just below the lens. The arrow markers show you where to read.
-
Start the camera, then the prompter
Hit record on your camera first, take a breath, then press Space. The countdown gives you a few seconds to settle before the text moves.
-
Adjust while you read
Press ↑ or ↓ to change speed by 10 wpm, ← or → to move one line, or tap the screen to pause. The progress bar and time left tell you how much is still to come.
Where to put the screen so you keep eye contact
Viewers notice when your eyes drift away from the lens. The fix is distance and position. Put the screen as close to the lens as you can, and move the camera back so the angle between lens and text gets small.
Phone or tablet as the prompter: mount it directly under the camera lens, touching the camera body if possible. Set the reading line to the top so the words you are reading sit right under the lens.
Laptop as the prompter: if you record with the laptop webcam, narrow the text column and keep the reading line at the top. Our laptop teleprompter page has a preset for this. If a separate camera is on a tripod, put the laptop behind the tripod, at lens height.
Narrow the text. A wide column makes your eyes sweep left and right on every line, which reads as shifty on camera. Try a text width of 50 to 70 percent and a larger font. Short lines also make it easier to look away and back without losing your place.
If you have a beam-splitter rig, turn on mirror mode so the reflection reads correctly. The mirror teleprompter page explains how those rigs work.
How long should a YouTube script be?
At a natural 140 words per minute, here is roughly how many words you need for a given video length.
| Video length | Words at 140 wpm | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 1 minute | 140 | Channel trailer, intro |
| 3 minutes | 420 | Quick tip, update |
| 5 minutes | 700 | Short explainer |
| 8 minutes | 1,120 | Standard tutorial |
| 10 minutes | 1,400 | Review, deep explainer |
| 15 minutes | 2,100 | Long-form breakdown |
| 20 minutes | 2,800 | Essay or course lesson |
B-roll, demos and screen recordings add time that is not in the script. Use the free script timer to check a script at any speed.
Write a script you can read without sounding like you are reading
Most of what makes teleprompter delivery sound stiff is in the script, not the reading.
Write for the ear
Use contractions and short sentences. Read each paragraph out loud once before you record. If you stumble, rewrite the line rather than practicing it.
One idea per line
Break the script into short paragraphs. Blank lines show up as gaps on the prompter and give you natural places to breathe.
Add stage directions
Write cues in [square brackets], like [hold up product] or [cut to screen]. They show in a different color and are not counted in the read time.
Leave room to ad-lib
You do not have to script every word. Bullet a section in brackets and talk through it. Tap to pause the text while you go off script.
Splitting a long video into sections and handling retakes
Reading a 2,000-word script in one take is hard, and you do not need to. Split the script into sections that match your edit: intro, each main point, and the outro. Record each one as its own take. If you fluff a line, you only redo that section.
For a retake, press R or Home to jump back to the start, or use ← and → to step back a line or two and restart from the last clean sentence. Leave a second of silence before the retake so the cut is easy to find in your editor.
If you film alone, a presentation clicker or a Bluetooth foot pedal helps. They send PageUp and PageDown, which move the text three lines at a time, so you can back up without walking to the keyboard.
Sponsor reads and calls to action are worth scripting word for word, even if you talk freely in the rest of the video. Put them in their own section so you can redo them without touching the main take.
The prompter keeps the screen awake in browsers that support it, so your phone or laptop will not dim halfway through a take.
Once the long video is up, you can get more out of it. Short.now turns long videos into captioned vertical clips for Shorts, Reels and TikTok. See how to make YouTube Shorts from long videos or try the YouTube Shorts maker.
Recorded a long video? Get the Shorts out of it.
Short.now finds the best moments in your video, reframes them to 9:16 and adds captions, so one recording becomes a week of Shorts, Reels and TikToks.
Questions
Many do, especially for explainers, tutorials and sponsor reads where exact wording matters. Others use a teleprompter only for bullet points and talk freely between them.
Keep the screen close to the lens, narrow the text column and slow down a little. Write the script the way you speak, and pause the text when you want to ad-lib.
Start at 140 words per minute and adjust with the arrow keys. Most people land between 130 and 160 depending on the topic and their natural pace.
Yes. Open this page on your phone, paste the script and mount the phone right under your camera lens. It works in the phone browser with nothing to install.
About 1,400 words at 140 words per minute. If your video includes demos or B-roll without narration, you will need fewer words.
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no time limit. Your script is saved only in this browser.
