How many audio minutes do I need for an Arabic voiceover project?

Start with the deliverables

List each recording your client or team will receive: the main video, a shorter cut, a second language or a regional version. Count the speech in each, rather than the full video length. Music, silence and an end card do not automatically need generated narration.

Mark which lines can reuse an approved audio file. Reusing the same recording in two edits does not require generating it twice. A translated or rewritten line needs its own duration estimate; do not assume the Arabic version will match the length of another language.

A worked example: three short lessons

Suppose you need three lessons, each with two minutes of narration. The first complete recordings total six minutes. You also plan a separate 30-second introduction. After review, you expect to replace one 30-second section in each lesson: another 90 seconds.

That gives a planning total of eight generated minutes: 6 + 0.5 + 1.5. The delivered lessons and separate introduction contain only 6.5 minutes because the replacement sections take the place of earlier audio. If every lesson needs a full second take instead, replace the 1.5-minute revision allowance with six minutes: the estimate becomes 12.5 minutes.

Choose a revision allowance you can explain

Ask what is still undecided before adding a buffer. A script awaiting factual approval, a second voice audition and a new regional version are different sources of extra work. Write down the sections likely to change and their approximate duration instead of applying a universal percentage.

• Names, numbers and product terms: approve their wording and pronunciation before recording the complete script.
• Voice or dialect changes: budget for the whole affected recording when consistency requires a new take.
• Small corrections: count the sections you will actually regenerate. Replacing only a sentence still requires checking the transition in your editor.
• Approval rounds: agree who approves the script and who can request another take. Keep each approved script with its matching audio.

Listen before committing the whole script

Use an existing recording to narrow your voice choice, then test a short representative passage when generation is available. Include the names and sentence style the project actually uses. Measure that result in your editor; reading pace can change with wording, punctuation and voice.

The MSA sample below is an existing public voice reference. It does not read the lesson example above, does not demonstrate the eight-minute estimate and is not a live generation test. Playing it does not generate new audio.

Keep planning minutes separate from billing

For audio-minute offers, FasihTTS charges completed speech duration once, rounding the entire job up to the next whole second. A successful new take uses allowance even if you later choose another take. Downloading an existing result is free. Previous character entitlements remain under their purchased terms, so check which balance your account is using.

Speech allowance is reserved during processing. Under the Terms, failed speech generations release that reservation and do not use speech allowance. Voice-design attempts follow different rules and count when submitted, including failed designs. This article estimates speech generation, not voice-design attempts.

When available, free samples are for evaluation and non-commercial testing. The one-time Project Pack and paid subscriptions include commercial usage rights for generated files only if you have the necessary rights to the submitted material, comply with applicable law and avoid deception or impersonation. Review the Terms for your use case.

Choose a plan after a successful test

For a bounded project, compare the one-time Project Pack with the current monthly plans. For recurring work, total the projects you realistically expect to generate during the billing period, including revisions. Check the displayed allowance, validity, renewal terms and price rather than buying only against the final exported runtime.

Save your estimate as a short checklist: first recordings, separate versions, replacement sections and approval rounds. Update it after the first successful representative recording. If generation is unavailable, finish the script and revision plan first; a larger allowance does not by itself establish service availability.