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Sample Length Calculator

Convert Samples, Milliseconds, Beats and Bars

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How the Sample Length Calculator works

This sample length calculator converts a length of audio between samples, milliseconds, seconds, beats and bars. Enter an amount, choose its unit, the sample rate and the tempo, and every other unit is worked out at once, along with how long one sample lasts and how many samples make one beat. It is for setting loop points, buffer sizes, delay lengths and sample-accurate edits.

Digital audio counts time in samples. Editors, samplers and plug-ins often ask for a length in samples while you think in milliseconds or beats, and converting by hand is where off-by-one loop points and drifting delays come from.

How the sample length calculator converts

The formula is simple. Samples = seconds × sample rate, so milliseconds = samples ÷ sample rate × 1,000. One beat at a given tempo lasts 60 ÷ BPM seconds, so samples per beat = sample rate × 60 ÷ BPM, and a bar is that multiplied by the beats per bar.

First example. At 44.1 kHz, 44,100 samples is exactly 1,000 ms, one second. At 120 BPM a beat is 500 ms, so the same 44,100 samples is two beats, or half a bar of 4/4.

Second example. A one-bar loop at 128 BPM and 48 kHz: a beat is 48,000 × 60 ÷ 128 = 22,500 samples, and a 4/4 bar is 90,000 samples. Set a sampler's loop end to 90,000 and it stays locked to the grid indefinitely.

How many samples make a millisecond? 44.1 at 44.1 kHz and 48 at 48 kHz. That is why a buffer of 256 samples adds about 5.3 ms of latency at 48 kHz, and 512 samples about 10.7 ms. Small fractions matter: tempos that do not divide the sample rate evenly give fractional samples per beat, which is why the results keep two decimal places. Round only at the last step.

Samples per beat and per 4/4 bar at common tempos

BPM ms per beat Samples at 44.1 kHz Samples at 48 kHz 4/4 bar at 48 kHz
60 1000 44,100 48,000 192,000
70 857.14 37,800 41,143 164,571
80 750 33,075 36,000 144,000
85 705.88 31,129 33,882 135,529
90 666.67 29,400 32,000 128,000
95 631.58 27,853 30,316 121,263
100 600 26,460 28,800 115,200
105 571.43 25,200 27,429 109,714
110 545.45 24,055 26,182 104,727
115 521.74 23,009 25,043 100,174
120 500 22,050 24,000 96,000
125 480 21,168 23,040 92,160
128 468.75 20,672 22,500 90,000
130 461.54 20,354 22,154 88,615
135 444.44 19,600 21,333 85,333
140 428.57 18,900 20,571 82,286
145 413.79 18,248 19,862 79,448
150 400 17,640 19,200 76,800
160 375 16,538 18,000 72,000
170 352.94 15,565 16,941 67,765
174 344.83 15,207 16,552 66,207
180 333.33 14,700 16,000 64,000

Sample counts in the table are rounded to whole samples; the calculator keeps the fraction. The table under the calculator lists every common note value, dotted and triplet included, at your chosen tempo and rate.

FAQ

How many samples are in one second?

Exactly the sample rate: 44,100 at 44.1 kHz, 48,000 at 48 kHz and 96,000 at 96 kHz. One millisecond is the sample rate divided by 1,000, so 44.1 samples at 44.1 kHz and 48 samples at 48 kHz.

How do I convert samples to milliseconds?

Divide the number of samples by the sample rate and multiply by 1,000. For example, 1,024 samples at 48 kHz is 1,024 ÷ 48,000 × 1,000 = 21.33 ms. Enter the samples, choose the rate and the calculator gives the milliseconds and every other unit.

Why is the number of samples per beat not a whole number?

Because most tempos do not divide the sample rate evenly. At 44.1 kHz and 128 BPM a beat is 20,671.875 samples. Keep the fraction for long loops, or pick a tempo such as 120 or 125 BPM where the beat lands on a whole sample.

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