What Does Audiobook Narration Cost ?
Authors spend months, years sometimes writing a book. That’s a big personal investment. Finding the right narrator, the one that understands the brief, has the skills, has the studio and the experience, gets the vibe and is easy to work with can take a bit of time.
Maybe theirs a character voice in your mind that no-one can re-produce. Sometimes auditions are too ‘on the nose’ and show no evidence of connection with the characters, too performative, no subtle emotional shifts. There’s 101 reasons to skip it, why take the risk ?
Let me take one factor out of the equation for you though, pricing. It’s often used as the off ramp, but it shouldn’t be a deal breaker. Everything is negotiable of. Some indie authors see a quote like “£150 – £200 PFH” and shut down because they have no sense of what it includes. Let me break down how Audiobook Narration pricing works and what a good deal looks like.
Audiobook Narration Formula
In the audiobook world we measure everything by “Per Finished Hour” (PFH) and as a guide, 9,300 words is about 1 hour of finished audio. I ran a test of my pacing and it came in at exactly that, which is really helpful with quotes.
If your manuscript is 65,000 words:
65,000 ÷ 9,300 = about 7 hours of audio.
7 hours × £200 = £1,400 invested.
What does that £200 actually buy you?
My £150 – £200 rate isn’t just for my voice. It is an all-inclusive production package covering:
Pre-production:
Reading your manuscript, researching pronunciations, and mapping out character voices.
Recording:
High-quality narration in a professional studio.
Proofing:
Meticulous review against your script to catch missed words & pronunciations.
Mastering:
Professional audio engineering to ensure the final files perfectly meet strict ACX, Audible, and Spotify technical standards.
Building an Audiobook Quote
I don’t charge pre production and proofing:
1 x Finished Hour = 2 hours of studio narration time and up to 3 hours of editing
For best efficiency, the mix is completed at the end, across all files. It takes around an hour and is only charged once. So 5 hours of studio time for an hour of audio that’s retail ready.
When your manuscript is 65,000 words, it works out as 35 studio hours at the rate of $40 per hour, which is a pretty good deal. Using PFH puts the onus on me, the narrator to process the work in a timeline that makes my business viable.
With PFH the price is locked. If a complex chapter takes me three hours to get perfect in the booth, you still only pay for the final finished hour. It’s transparent so we can agree a timeline and no-one is charging by the clock.
The narrator’s incentive is to crack on and get the work done.
Industry Approved Rates
The key variable is the PFH rate, which is really what you are negotiating. It differs depending on a narrators’ experience, the length of the book and the complexity of the script.
I use industry approved rates, not arbitrary figures. There are two resources where you can check these, one for the UK and one for the US / everywhere else.
UK: GFTB Rate Guide
US: GVAA Rate Guide
My rate sits at the bottom of the upper zone, which reflects the experience I’ve gained over 8 years as a professional narrator.
Specific Pricing Factors
Every case is unique and I like to give authors a breakdown of how a quote s built up. Some things to consider:
Is the book dialogue heavy ? This content is more demanding and takes longer.
Are there lots of technical terms that might need practice, maybe even pronunciation research. I’m talking mostly about engineering, science and medicine here.
Character accents ?
Foreign names ? Some clients send me a raw audio recording from their phone of tricky names which is really helpful.
Meditative styles naturally take longer to narrate.
Amendments and Re-Records
Hiring an experienced narrator saves time in the long run. A less experienced one may charge you less, but you could be going back and forth for months and there’s no guarantee the audio will be accepted by publishing platforms like ACX, Spotify etc. Once the script is locked in, the quote is based on that. Any errors of pronunciation, mis-reads or unwanted noise should be corrected free of charge.
It’s not unreasonable to request short sections of text to be re-recorded, but if you’re asking for a complete re-read then something’s badly mis-aligned. Here’s how you avoid that:
First 15 Feedback:
Within 24 hours of hiring, I like to record the first 15 minutes of the book and include all the main characters. It gets fully edited, mixed and sent to you for feedback. We can go back and forth as many times as necesary, the idea being that once you’re happy, I run with the rest of the book. It’s not time efficient to forward work chapter by chapter.
The Finished Audiobook
If you’ve hired an experienced professional then what you’re actually buying is reassurance that someone will do justice to your creative work. When you get your files back they’re completely ready for retail upload. No hidden fees, no technical headaches and no surprises.
James Fowler Voiceover
I’m James and I’m a British Narrator with over 50 titles under my belt. I’ve worked in many genres, from Historical Fiction and Non Fiction, to Sci Fi, Thriller, Horror and Self Help. What gets me out of my silk pyjamas most though is character work. Get in touch if you want either a test read of your script, or just a quote. I’m always happy to help and we can chat through any aspects of style, tone and production timeline.
