Looking for a Polish audiobook narrator and wondering how much it costs to record your book in Polish? The calculator below provides a base estimate from the length of your manuscript. It is not an automatic final offer: the confirmed price also depends on text complexity, dialogue, interpretation requirements, usage rights and production scope.
One Polish arkusz wydawniczy ("publishing sheet") is 40,000 characters with spaces or approximately 6,667 words, which works out to roughly one hour of finished, mastered audio. After the first sheet, further sheets are billed at progressive rates.
Audiobook pricing calculator
Estimate the base price of full production
Enter the length in any one field. The other units and the estimate will update automatically.
1 publishing sheet = 40,000 characters with spaces = approx. 6,667 words = approx. 22 standard pages = approx. 1 hour of finished audio.
- Actual volume
- Finished audio
Estimated price
Non-binding base estimate. I prepare the exact quote after reviewing your text, usually within 24 hours.
Send an excerpt and get the exact priceThe base estimate includes
Audiobook recording in my own voice in a studio, editing, mastering, splitting files into chapters, a contract for specific work with agreed rights to the artistic performance.
The agreement excludes voice cloning, speech synthesis and using the recording or voice to train artificial-intelligence systems.
The final price also depends on text complexity, specialist terminology, dialogue or interpretation requirements.
Progressive net rates
- up to 1 sheet: production minimum — EUR 340
- sheets 2–3: EUR 240 per sheet
- sheets 4–8: EUR 190 per sheet
- sheet 9 onward: EUR 160 per sheet
What determines the price of Polish audiobook narration?
I bill per arkusz wydawniczy (~40,000 characters with spaces ≈ one hour of finished audio) — the longer the book, the more sheets to quote.
A single narrator is a different workload than a multi-cast radio drama, where several characters need to be clearly distinguished by tone and pace.
A guide calls for a calm, clear tone. A novel with dialogue needs acting-level interpretation. Children's books need a warm, expressive voice. Each genre carries a different interpretive workload.
A self-published author distributing on one platform needs a different licence than a publisher planning distribution across several platforms at once — Polish services like Audioteka, Storytel, Legimi and Empik Go, as well as international ones like Audible and Apple Books.
Unlike many agencies, the price per publishing sheet covers everything: recording, editing and mastering. You don't need to find a separate studio or sound engineer.
How long does it take to record a Polish audiobook?
A standard book — around 300 pages, or 8–10 hours of finished audio — usually takes 2 to 4 weeks. That covers studio recording, editing, removing mistakes and breaths, and final mastering. Shorter forms (guides, novellas) are faster — we agree on an exact timeline once I've seen the text.
Voice bank / agency vs. working directly with a Polish narrator
As with other types of recordings, you have two options: an agency (voice bank) or direct contact with the narrator. The first means an extra middleman's commission added to the price and a longer back-and-forth. Working directly cuts that markup and lets us settle interpretation details faster. I cover the differences between these two models in more detail in my guide Looking for a Voice-Over Artist.
How to prepare your manuscript before requesting a quote
- Flag the pronunciation of difficult names — if the Polish text includes foreign names or specialised terms, add a phonetic note in brackets.
- Describe each character for dialogue scenes — a few words on age, temperament or speech pattern for every important character helps me differentiate voices.
- Tell me your planned distribution platforms — whether the audiobook is going to Audioteka, Storytel, or elsewhere affects the scope of the licence in the quote.
- Send the text in an editable format (Word, Google Docs) — makes it easy to leave notes directly on specific passages.
What exactly is included in the price?
- ✅ one narrator recorded in a professional studio,
- ✅ full post-production — removing mistakes and breaths,
- ✅ mastering and loudness normalization (LUFS/RMS) to the requirements of Audioteka, Storytel, Legimi, Empik Go, Apple Books and podcast services — files pass technical verification without revisions,
- ✅ chapter splitting with correct ID3 tags,
- ✅ a contract for specific work transferring the agreed rights to the artistic performance, plus a VAT invoice,
- ✅ corrections of my own mistakes — always free.
The agreement excludes voice cloning, speech synthesis and using the recording or voice to train artificial-intelligence systems. Changes you make to the text after recording are quoted separately, based on the length of the pickup.
Listen to sample recordings
Before you commit, hear how I sound narrating in Polish across different genres:
Request a free sample and a quote
Have a finished manuscript, or just an excerpt, ready? Send it over along with the platforms you're planning to publish on. I'll record you a free sample of up to one page, so you can hear your book narrated in Polish before committing to the full production. Find the full offer and FAQ on the Polish audiobook narration page, and I'll usually get back to you with a quote within 24 hours via the quote page. See the local information about audiobook recording for Warsaw clients and audiobook recording in the Tricity area.
Pricing a different format? See how much a Polish commercial voice-over costs and the corporate e-learning narration pricing guide.
