How Much Do Voice Actors Make?

Aggregated data from major job-hunting websites shows that the average voice actor generally earns somewhere in the range of $25–$500 per working hour. This is a huge range.

However, it’s worth noting that these figures don’t give an accurate impression of how much a voice actor makes since voice actors don’t typically charge by the working hour. To give you a more well-rounded understanding of voice actor earnings, the table below shows typical voice acting rates per hour, week, month, and year.

Typical Voice Actor Rates

As you can see, there’s a great deal of variation in how much money voice actors typically make. This is because there are so many variables that influence your earnings.

For starters, while many voice actors only do the occasional project, others work closer to full-time hours. How much you work will significantly influence your overall earnings.

Second, these figures average out the earnings across all different types of voice acting projects. As shown in the table below, the budgets and rates for different projects can vary substantially.

Voiceover Rates by Project Type

Source: Global Voice Acting Academy.

For a voice acting side hustle, you can realistically earn $1,000 or more each month. If you do voice acting full time, it’s perfectly realistic to expect to make $100,000 a year or more.

However, don’t expect to start earning right away. It’ll take time and money to get the training and equipment necessary to earn a professional voice acting salary.

Who are some of the highest-paid voice actors?

There is certainly plenty of money to be made in the voice acting industry. The highest-earning voice actors out there get paid thousands of dollars per hour, and it’s common to see the best voice actors with a net worth in the millions.

For example, voice actors on the Simpsons (like Nancy Cartwright and Dan Castellaneta) make up the majority of the top 10 highest-paid voice actors, with each reportedly making $300,000+ per episode.

But don’t get too excited. Only a handful of people in Hollywood are able to make this kind of money. Still, their remarkable wages hint at the power that a voice artist has over their earnings.

Voice actors aren’t paid by the hour like you’d find with many other jobs. Instead, they’re typically paid on a per-project or per-job basis.

Here are some of the most common ways that voice actor pay is calculated:

• Flat rate per project: Some voice actors negotiate a predetermined flat rate for a project, whether that’s a single TV episode, a movie, or a commercial.
• Per finished hour (PFH): This is your base rate multiplied by the final audio length. For example, if your base rate is $200, and your final audio length is 2 hours, you’ll be paid $400, no matter how long it took you to produce the work.
• Per word: This is a set rate for each word spoken, where your final payment is based on the word count of the script rather than the length of the audio.
• Per working hour: This is a set hourly rate you get for each hour you spend voice acting or recording in a studio,
• Royalty pay: This is a payment structure where you’re paid later rather than upfront, and your voice acting pay is calculated according to the project’s revenue. It’s most commonly seen in audiobook narration contracts.
• Hybrid: This type of voice acting payment structure combines multiple payment types. For example, you could get paid a base rate per finished hour plus royalty pay.

Some payment structures are more common in some niches than others. For example, per-word rates are more common for voice overs, whereas royalties are most common for audiobook narrators.

Working as an independent contractor, you theoretically get to set your own rates or only accept projects that pay enough to be worth it to you. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll earn however much you want.

To start a lucrative voice acting career and ensure you’re among the voice actors who get paid well, it’s crucial to understand the factors that impact your earnings.

Type of work

As mentioned, not every type of voice acting project has the same average rates or payment structure. For instance, audiobook narrator rates are typically lower than voice over rates because of the scope of work required.

But that doesn’t mean audiobook narrators are paid less overall. An audiobook narrator has potential to earn a lot more from a single project than, for example, a voice over artist who’s recording a single tag at the end of a commercial, even if their rate is lower per minute or hour.

Business expenses

Most voice actors work as freelancers instead of salaried employees. While there are a rare few who commute into a recording studio, most work from home in their own home recording studio.

This unique employment structure and work setup for voice actors has financial implications that affect their overall take-home pay. For example, high startup costs when setting up your home studio can impact your initial profits.

Another factor that influences voice actor earnings is taxes. Assuming you’re working as an independent contractor, you’ll also have to pay self-employment taxes.

Experience and reputation

Experienced voice over actors are bound to earn more than entry-level voice actors. In fact, one voice over actor we spoke to, Natasha Marchewka, said that she earned just $25 for her first gig, but now she earns up to 100 times more than that.

There aren’t clear guidelines as to which projects you should accept at different stages of your career. Many beginner voice actors accept lower-paying jobs to get material for their demo reels and build connections in the industry.

Broadcast vs. nonbroadcast

Broadcast projects are distributed to a wide audience across radio, TV, and other digital media. By contrast, nonbroadcast projects are used for internal viewership to a limited audience. A few examples are audiobooks, movie trailers, and narration for documentaries.

The pay for these two types of projects is calculated differently. A broadcast project’s rate will fluctuate depending on the size of the distribution market and usage of your contribution, whereas a nonbroadcast project’s rate is typically determined by factors like word count or length of the finished audio.

Project budget

Even within different voice acting fields, there’s huge variation in earning potential depending on how big your client is and how much money they’re willing to pay a voice actor.

For example, if you’re doing a quick tag line or even narrating an audiobook for a self-publishing author, you won’t earn anywhere near as much as you’d earn doing commercial voice overs for a huge corporation or dubbing a blockbuster film.

For broadcasted voice work in particular, factors like where your work is being broadcasted (locally or internationally) and for how long will significantly impact your potential earnings.

Recording and production time

Since most voice acting gigs are not paid by the working hour and voice actors are responsible for recording and editing their own work, you could lose a lot of potential earnings if it takes you longer than it should to record high-quality audio that’s ready for submission to a client.

Naturally, this is something that you’ll get better with over time. It’ll take you a while to learn the ropes with different software and understand what clients are expecting so you won’t have to spend as long rerecording your work or making corrections.

Union vs. nonunion work

The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) is a labor union for voice artists and other performers in the entertainment industry. It ensures its members get fair pay, health insurance and retirement benefits, and safe working conditions.

Union rates will still vary by project depending on the terms SAG-AFTRA negotiates on behalf of members with different publishers and production companies. However, as a union member, you’ll have better earnings and protections overall compared to nonunion actors.

With that said, many voiceover projects in the industry are nonunion jobs. This means you may still have to take on projects that don’t provide union benefits, especially when you’re just starting out.

Residual income

Residuals are ongoing payments you receive from projects that are re-released, streamed, or distributed. Most nonunion jobs are full buyouts, meaning your client has perpetual rights to your work, and you aren’t eligible to receive residuals. However, some union jobs may include residuals in their contracts.

The exact rates you can expect to get depend on your contract and the media type. These payments are separate from the initial compensation you receive for recording the voiceover.

Now that you understand the factors that affect your earnings, you have a better idea of why pay rates for voice actors can vary so widely. But deciding how much to charge for each project you do is still a tricky business. The following tips can help you set your rates more confidently.

Do market research

One of the quickest and most effective ways to learn how to set your rates is to research how much your peers are charging. To get accurate estimates, check the standard rates among voice actors in your niche and with a similar level of experience.

If you don’t know any voice actors personally in the industry, consider searching for Facebook groups for voice actors (e.g., The Voice Acting Hub) or online discussion forums (e.g., the subreddit r/VoiceActing), where you can consult other professionals.

Know your worth

Avoid projects that offer rates below the base minimum. To make voice acting a sustainable side hustle or career, you need to value your own time and expertise.

When we spoke to Andrea Emmes, a professional audiobook narrator who’s been in the business for over 25 years, she emphasized just how important it is to stick to standard industry rates. “There is a base PFH that we should be adhering to so that we are not ‘racing to the bottom’ rate wise and doing all this work for next to nothing,” she said.

If a client insists on paying you much lower than industry standards, you should pass on the opportunity and look elsewhere. Doing so also helps maintain a healthy ecosystem in the industry, ensuring you and your peers receive fair pay.

If you’re interested in becoming a voice actor, these tips will help set you up for success:

• Know your own voice: To get more jobs, be honest with yourself about the defining characteristics of your voice and apply for jobs that are a natural fit. If you’re struggling to hear yourself objectively or you’ve been at it a long time without success, try getting feedback from others.
• Prepare solid demos: Your demos are the first impression clients have of you. Show your skills, range, and style in your demos, and keep them short (around 90 seconds total, consisting of segments that are 15–20 seconds long).
• Network: Connecting with other industry professionals opens doors to new opportunities and leads to career advancement. Consider attending industry events, voiceover conferences, and online or in-person workshops.
• Audition consistently: Most voice actors will tell you the toughest part about voice acting is the rejections. Even the best of the best aren’t right for every gig. You’ll only land voice acting jobs if you work hard and avoid getting discouraged.
• Diversify your voice-acting work: Specializing in more than one type of voice acting and developing a range of skills helps you expand your job options.

When you feel tired or discouraged, remind yourself of why you embarked on this path in the first place. Voice acting can be a wonderful career for those who persevere.