A beginner voice actor charges $75 to $100 per 100 words for a short script, and $75 to $125 per finished hour for an audiobook. Those are US dollars for non-union freelance work, and by beginner I mean your first two years.
Want every rate in one place? The free voice over rate guide has beginner, mid-level and pro numbers, with a calculator that builds the quote for you.
Get the free rate guideThe rest of this post shows you how to turn that into a quote you can send today.
- Charge $75 to $100 per 100 words for a short script in your first two years.
- Charge $75 to $125 per finished hour for an audiobook.
- An ad has two prices. One is your recording fee and the other is a license for where it runs.
- Your rate is the same on every platform. Only the platform's fee changes.
- Beginner doesn't mean free. Nothing in the table is a $5 job.
How much should a beginner voice actor charge?
Here is what I'd quote in my first two years, by type of job.
| Job | How it's priced | Beginner rate |
|---|---|---|
| Short script (corporate video, explainer, e-learning) | per 100 words, up to 300 words | $75 to $100 |
| Long script | per word, after the first 300 | $0.12 to $0.16 |
| Audiobook | per finished hour | $75 to $125 |
| Radio spot | per :15 or :30 spot, plus a license | $50 to $75 |
| TV commercial | per 100 words, plus a license | $75 to $100 |
| Phone and IVR | per 100 words | $50 to $75 |
| Video games | per one-hour session | $150 to $225 |
The full voice over rate guide has the mid-level and pro numbers next to these, and a calculator that builds the quote for you.
Why do beginners charge less than pros?
Because a new voice actor and a ten-year pro aren't selling the same thing yet. I don't expect a new voice talent to command the same prices as someone with years of experience. Early on, people are taking a chance on someone they've never heard of, so getting work in your queue matters more than every dollar.
Beginner doesn't mean free, though. Nothing in that table is a $5 job.
When I first started, I charged maybe $50 per finished hour for audiobooks. I didn't know whether to charge $5 or $500, so I pretty much took whatever people would pay me.
I also didn't know how to keep my price the same from one platform to the next, or on my own website. That was the challenge I ran into, and it's why I put these numbers in one place.
How do I price a short script?
Count the words and charge per 100. A 150-word explainer is two blocks of 100, so a beginner quotes $150 to $200.
Past 300 words you switch to a per-word rate. A 350-word script is $225 to $300 for the first 300 words, plus 50 words at $0.12 to $0.16. That comes to about $231 to $308.
Don't want to do the math? The calculator in the free rate guide builds the quote for you in about a minute.
Open the calculatorHow do I price an audiobook?
Audiobooks are priced per finished hour, which is one hour of the audio the listener hears. ACX counts about 9,300 words as one finished hour.
So an 80,000-word novel is about eight and a half finished hours. At $75 to $125 per finished hour, a beginner quotes roughly $645 to $1,075 for that book. I wrote more about how narrators get paid if you're choosing between royalty share and per finished hour.
Do I charge extra if it's an ad?
Yes. An ad that runs on TV or radio has two parts to the price. The first is your recording fee, and the second is a license for where the ad runs and how long.
The license is the same at every level. A local TV license for 3 months is $125. A national TV license for 6 months is $550. Radio is lower, at $300 for a national 6-month license.
Are my rates different on Fiverr or Voices.com?
No. Your rate stays the same and only the platform's fee changes. On a site that takes 20%, quote $125 to take home $100.
The rate guide compares the fees on 37 platforms, including ACX, Voices.com and Fiverr.
Frequently asked questions
Should I work for free to build a portfolio?
I wouldn't. Practice scripts and classes build your skills. A client who can pay a pro can pay a beginner rate.
When should I raise my rates?
Raise them when your queue stays full and you've got the training and a good studio behind you. Move up a tier instead of a few dollars at a time.
What if a client offers less than my rate?
A lowball usually means the client doesn't know how voice-over is priced. List the recording fee and the license as separate lines. A shorter term or a smaller market can bring the total down without cutting your rate. If the job looks odd in other ways, read my post on voice over scams before you reply.
Do I charge for retakes?
If it's my mistake, I fix it for free. If the client changes the script after approving the direction, that's a new recording and I charge my per-word rate for the changed lines.
Build your first quote in about a minute
Open the voice over rate guide, pick Beginner, and the calculator builds the quote for you.
Open the rate guideThese are educational estimates and not a price list. Every job is different and you decide what you charge.
Go out there and audition.
Anthony
Anthony Pica, founder of VO Journey Academy