Raise the laptop until the webcam is at eye level, open a free browser teleprompter, and put a narrow column of text at the top of the screen right under the camera. Set the font so you can read it without leaning in and the scroll to about 130 to 150 words per minute. Record a 10-second test before the real take.
What do you need?
Less than you'd think. A laptop with a webcam, a teleprompter that runs in the browser (our free online teleprompter works, as do the options in our Windows teleprompter roundup), and a stack of books or a laptop stand. An external keyboard helps if the laptop ends up too high to type on comfortably. That's the whole kit.
How do you set up a laptop as a teleprompter?
- Raise the webcam to eye level.
- Open the teleprompter in its own window.
- Put the text at the top of the screen.
- Set the font size for your distance.
- Set the scroll speed to your talking pace.
- Fix glare and record a test.
Step 1: Raise the webcam to eye level
A laptop on a desk films you from below, so the viewer gets your chin and the ceiling. Put it on books or a stand until the lens is level with your eyes. Sit an arm's length away, around 50 to 70 cm.
What goes wrong: people raise the laptop and then tilt the lid back to see the screen. The camera tilts with it. Keep the lid close to vertical.
Step 2: Open the teleprompter in its own window
Press Ctrl+N for a fresh browser window and open the teleprompter there. A separate window matters later if you go on a video call, because you can share other windows without it. Paste your script and check the word count; at 130 to 150 words per minute, 300 words is a bit over two minutes.
Step 3: Put the text at the top of the screen
This step makes or breaks it. Resize the window to about a third of the screen width and drag it to the top center, so the first line sits right under the webcam. In our tool, the blue reading guide sits in the top third of the display for the same reason.
Here's how far your eyes drift from the lens depending on where the line you're reading sits, at a typical 60 cm from a 15.6-inch screen:
| Where the line sits | Distance below the webcam | Gaze angle off the lens | How it looks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right under the camera | 3 cm | About 3 degrees | Like eye contact |
| Upper part of the screen | 8 cm | About 8 degrees | Like glancing slightly down |
| Middle of the screen | 12 to 15 cm | About 11 to 14 degrees | Noticeably looking down |
| Bottom of the screen | 20 cm | About 18 degrees | Reading |
The angles are plain trigonometry. The rule many teleprompter vendors use is that anything within about 15 degrees still passes as eye contact; we'd aim for the top two rows anyway, since the camera also picks up how much your eyes move. Narrow lines help with that. A line width of 50 to 60% means your eyes barely sweep sideways.
Step 4: Set the font size for your distance
The text should be readable without leaning forward. Leaning is the giveaway nobody thinks about. These are our starting points:
| Your distance from the laptop | Starting font size | Typical setup |
|---|---|---|
| 45 to 60 cm | 32 to 40 px | Laptop on a stand, built-in webcam |
| 60 to 80 cm | 40 to 56 px | Laptop pushed back on a desk |
| 1 m or more | 72 px and up | Laptop as a prompter behind a separate camera |
One Windows quirk: display scaling multiplies these. At 150% scaling, which many laptops ship with, 40 px in the browser shows up as 60 physical pixels. If the text looks huge, that's why. Go by what you can read, not by the number.
Step 5: Set the scroll speed to your talking pace
Most people read aloud at 130 to 150 words per minute. Start slow, read the first three lines out loud, and nudge the speed with the arrow keys until the line you're on stays at the guide. The speaking pace table on the tool page shows how long scripts of different lengths take.
Step 6: Fix glare and record a test
Wear glasses? A bright white page reflects in the lenses, and viewers can sometimes see the scrolling text in them. Turn the screen brightness down and use light text on a dark background, which our teleprompter does by default. Then record ten seconds with the Windows Camera app and watch it back. Your eyes should look at the viewer, not at a point on the desk.
Can you use a laptop as a teleprompter for a separate camera?
Yes, two ways. The simple one: put the laptop directly below or behind the camera on its tripod, with the lens just above the top edge of the screen, and bump the font up because you're further away. That's what the 1 m row in the table is for.
The other is a beam-splitter rig, a sheet of glass at 45 degrees in front of the lens with the screen lying flat underneath. You read the reflection while the camera films straight through the glass. Most laptops don't fold flat, so in practice people put a tablet or phone under the glass and keep the laptop for editing the script. If you do use a screen under glass, turn on mirror mode; the reflection reverses the text. If it then reads upside down, rotate the screen 180 degrees.
Can you use your laptop as a teleprompter on a video call?
Yes, with one catch. The setup above works the same on Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet, but if you share your entire screen, the teleprompter window goes out with it. Share one window instead, or use Zoom's Portion of Screen option. Our teleprompter for Zoom guide walks through each option, and how to read notes on a video call covers the lighter version where you only need bullet points.
On a single laptop with no second monitor, there's no spare screen to share instead. That's the case AuraCloak handles. Windows leaves its window out of screen shares and recordings, so the script stays on your screen while the call sees your demo or slides. It doesn't auto-scroll, so you scroll it with the mouse wheel. See the Windows teleprompter setup, or hidden speaker notes for presentations if you're presenting slides.
One laptop, a full-screen share, and a script only you can see. AuraCloak runs on Windows 10 and 11.
See pricingCommon mistakes
- A full-width page of text. A document stretched across the screen forces your eyes left and right on every line.
- Reading from the bottom of the screen. Scroll so the line you're on stays near the top.
- Writing for the page instead of the ear. Use contractions and short sentences. If you wouldn't say it to a colleague, rewrite it.
- No pause points. Add a blank line where you want to breathe or let a point land.
FAQ
Can I use my laptop as a teleprompter for free?
Yes. Open a free browser teleprompter such as the AuraCloak online teleprompter, paste your script and press Start. You need no app, no account and no extra hardware beyond something to raise the laptop to eye level.
Where should the text go on my laptop screen?
At the top, directly under the webcam, in a narrow column. At a typical 60 cm viewing distance, text 3 cm below the lens puts your gaze about 3 degrees off the camera, while text at the bottom of a 15.6-inch screen is about 18 degrees off and looks like reading.
What font size should a laptop teleprompter use?
Big enough to read without leaning in. As a starting point, use 32 to 40 px at 45 to 60 cm, 40 to 56 px at 60 to 80 cm, and 72 px or more if the laptop sits a meter or more away behind a separate camera. Windows display scaling enlarges these further.
Do I need mirror mode on a laptop teleprompter?
Only if you read the text as a reflection in beam-splitter glass. Reading straight off the laptop screen, leave mirror mode off. With glass, turn it on, and if the text then reads upside down, rotate the screen 180 degrees.
Can my laptop be the teleprompter and the webcam at the same time?
Yes, and that is the usual setup. The webcam sits in the top bezel and the script scrolls in a narrow window right below it. Keep the line you are reading in the top quarter of the screen so your eyes stay close to the lens.