Audiobook production cost
Audiobooks are priced by the finished hour. ACX, Amazon's audiobook marketplace, says most narrators read about 9,300 words an hour, so a 50,000-word book runs about 5.4 hours. At the $200 to $400 per finished hour Reedsy reports, a narrator costs $1,075 to $2,151. Or you pay nothing upfront and share the royalties.
From words to finished hours
A "finished hour" is an hour of the final, edited audiobook, not an hour in the studio. ACX's help center gives the conversion: "most performers narrate about 9,300 words per hour," so divide your word count by 9,300 (ACX).
| Words | Finished hours | At $200 an hour | At $300 | At $400 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40,000 | 4.3 | $860 | $1,290 | $1,720 |
| 50,000 | 5.4 | $1,075 | $1,613 | $2,151 |
| 60,000 | 6.5 | $1,290 | $1,935 | $2,581 |
| 80,000 | 8.6 | $1,720 | $2,581 | $3,441 |
Hours rounded to one decimal; costs use the unrounded hours. The final bill uses the real running time.
Behind each finished hour is a lot of work. ACX estimates about 2 hours to record, 3 hours to edit and 1.2 hours to review, or 6.2 hours of work per finished hour, and says most producers take 5 to 7 hours (ACX). That is why per-finished-hour rates look high next to an hourly wage.
What narrators charge
ACX does not publish a rate card; narrators and authors agree a rate per project. The best public figure we found is from Reedsy's 2026 cost guide: professional narrators "typically charge between $200 and $400 per hour." The calculator uses $200 as budget, $400 as high end and the $300 midpoint as typical.
Union narrators are a separate case. ACX offers a "with AFTRA H&R" option, in which the rights holder pays the full fee to a designated paymaster, Eljin Productions, which handles the union health and retirement contributions. We could not open SAG-AFTRA's current audiobook rate sheet to confirm its minimums, so check them at sagaftra.org if you plan to hire a union narrator.
What moves a quote: the narrator's experience and audition quality, whether they also edit and master the audio or you pay a separate engineer, and how technical your text is. Charts, tables and long lists need rewriting for the ear before recording, which is your job, not the narrator's.
Three ways to pay on ACX
| Deal | You pay upfront | Your royalty (new model) | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay for production | Per-finished-hour fee | 50% exclusive, 30% non-exclusive | You carry the full cost |
| Royalty share | $0 | 25% (the narrator gets the other 25%) for 7 years | Must be exclusive to ACX |
| Royalty share plus | A reduced per-hour fee | Royalties split with the narrator | Both costs, smaller each |
Source: ACX, How royalties work, checked October 20, 2026.
Royalty share is the only way to an audiobook with no cash outlay, and it is a reasonable deal when you are unsure the audiobook will sell. The price is half your audiobook royalty for seven years and exclusivity. If you expect the audiobook to sell steadily, paying upfront keeps the whole royalty. A narrator on royalty share is betting on your sales, so expect them to weigh your audience before they audition.
The 2026 royalty change
Audible changed how ACX pays this year. From May 26, 2026, newly claimed DIY titles and new marketplace offers sent to producers are on a new model that pays 50% for exclusive distribution and 30% for non-exclusive, up from 40% and 25%. Existing titles keep the old rates until the end of 2026, when the legacy model ends and titles must be enrolled in the new one to stay on sale (ACX).
The rate is higher, but what it is a percentage of has changed. For Audible membership listening, royalties now equal a "Member Value" multiplied by your rate: a member's monthly plan revenue, after discounts, taxes and fees, divided among every title they listened to in proportion to those titles' prices. Cash purchases work as before. The practical result is that earnings per listen are harder to predict than earnings per sale, so we do not offer an audiobook break-even number in the calculator.
Narrating it yourself
Many nonfiction authors narrate their own books, and ACX notes that listeners love to hear an author's words in their own voice. The cost is not zero. ACX recommends a professional studio, and Reedsy notes that renting a studio and the equipment can cost about as much as a narrator. You also deliver finished, mastered files that pass ACX's audio requirements, so budget for an engineer to edit and master if you do not do it yourself. And it is your time: at ACX's estimate, around 11 hours of recording for a 5.4-hour book, before editing.
Reedsy also lists AI narration tools at around $50 a month. Check each retailer's current rules on synthetic narration before you choose that route.
Mistakes that cost money
- Recording before the print text is final. Corrections after recording mean pickups, and pickups cost studio time.
- Leaving visuals in the script. Rewrite tables and charts for listening, or point to a PDF.
- Choosing royalty share by default. Seven years of half your audio royalty can cost more than the upfront fee.
- Forgetting the cover. Audiobooks need their own cover file to ACX's specifications, so ask your cover designer for it at the start.
For comparison: Scribe Media, which makes this site, includes audiobook production in Scribe Publishing ($29,000, or $4,833 a month for 6 months; published prices). If an audiobook is the only extra you want, a freelance narrator costs far less. Add either option to your estimate in the calculator.
Common questions
How much does it cost to produce an audiobook?
Mostly the narrator's fee per finished hour. ACX says most narrators read about 9,300 words an hour, and Reedsy reports professional narrators typically charge $200 to $400 per hour, so a 50,000-word book (about 5.4 hours) costs roughly $1,075 to $2,151.
What is a royalty share audiobook deal?
On ACX, the narrator takes no upfront fee and instead splits your audiobook royalties equally with you for 7 years. It requires exclusive distribution through ACX. Under the royalty model Audible introduced in 2026, that is 25% each.
How much does ACX pay in royalties in 2026?
Under Audible's new royalty model, which applies to titles and offers on ACX from May 26, 2026, rights holders earn 50% for exclusive distribution and 30% for non-exclusive. The legacy 40% and 25% rates end at the close of 2026.
How long does an audiobook take to record?
ACX estimates about 6.2 hours of work per finished hour: about 2 hours to record, 3 to edit and 1.2 to check. A 5.4-hour book is roughly 33 hours of production work.
Sources, checked October 20, 2026: ACX help center: narrate an audiobook (9,300 words per hour; 6.2 hours of work per finished hour), How royalties work, Audible's new royalty model; Reedsy, 2026 cost guide; scribemedia.com/pricing. SAG-AFTRA's rate sheet could not be opened and is not used. Published by Scribe Media.