Free tool
Lyric Timing Calculator
Enter your song's BPM and get the exact timing for a lyric video: milliseconds per beat, per bar, and per line, plus frame counts at 30 and 60fps. The core formula is simple — milliseconds per beat = 60,000 ÷ BPM — and this does the rest. Free, no signup.
Each lyric line on screen for
At 120 BPM, one beat is 500 ms and one 4-beat bar is 2,000 ms.
Frame counts help when you set keyframes by hand in a video editor. In Epitrite, beat sync places these for you automatically.
How lyric video timing works
Lyric timing is just beat math. One beat lasts 60,000 ÷ BPM milliseconds. A bar is that beat length times the beats per bar (usually four). A lyric line that holds for two bars at 120 BPM is on screen for about four seconds. Get this right and the words land with the music instead of drifting ahead of or behind the vocal.
- Slower songs (under 90 BPM): hold lines longer, often two bars, so the lyric breathes.
- Mid-tempo (90–120 BPM): one to two bars per line reads cleanly.
- Fast songs (over 130 BPM): keep lines short, often one bar, so words don't pile up.
FAQ
How do you calculate lyric timing from BPM?
Milliseconds per beat = 60,000 ÷ BPM. At 120 BPM that is 500 ms per beat, so a standard 4-beat bar lasts 2,000 ms (2 seconds). Multiply by how many bars a line holds to get the time each lyric line should stay on screen.
How long should each lyric line stay on screen?
A common rule is one to two bars per line. At 120 BPM that is roughly 2 to 4 seconds. Fast songs read better with one short line at a time; slower songs can hold a longer line. Always make sure a viewer can read the line before the next one replaces it.
What are frames per beat at 30fps and 60fps?
Frames per beat = (ms per beat ÷ 1000) × fps. At 120 BPM, one beat (500 ms) is 15 frames at 30fps or 30 frames at 60fps. This matters when you place keyframes by hand in a video editor.
Do I have to time lyrics by hand?
No. Epitrite detects your song's BPM and syncs lyric timing for you, with tap sync and a word-by-word editor for fine-tuning. This calculator is for planning the timing yourself or understanding the math behind it.
Is this lyric timing calculator free?
Yes. It runs entirely in your browser with no signup, no account, and no limits. Epitrite, the lyric video maker behind it, also has a free plan with no watermark.
Skip the math — sync it automatically
Epitrite detects your song's BPM and times the lyrics for you, then exports release-ready cuts for TikTok, Reels, Shorts, YouTube, and Spotify Canvas. Free, with no watermark.
More guides: TikTok lyric videos · sync lyrics to BPM · all free tools