How to Build a Teleprompter Setup Under $100

A purpose-built broadcast teleprompter typically runs $400 to several thousand dollars; the working principle behind it — a sheet of beamsplitter glass set at 45° in front of the lens, with a screen reflecting text up into the glass — is straightforward enough that a competent DIY build can deliver most of the functional benefit for well under $100 in materials. This guide covers the build itself, plus what to budget for honestly: the under-$100 figure refers to the prompter rig, not the camera, the tablet you reflect, or the lighting on the talent.

If your goal is to read a script while keeping eye contact with the lens for short-form video, podcast intros, talking-head explainers, or corporate b-roll, a DIY beamsplitter prompter is genuinely useful. It will not match the optical clarity, mounting rigidity, or hood quality of a Prompter People or Ikan unit, and it’s not the right answer for live broadcast or full-day shoots. For occasional use on a YouTube channel or a corporate set, it’s a sensible piece of kit to build over a weekend.

What You'll Need

The materials list below comes in around $60–$85 for the prompter itself. The camera, tablet, and lighting are listed separately so the cost picture is honest.

Prompter materials (the under-$100 budget)

• Beamsplitter glass — a reflection-to-transmission ratio glass panel (typically marketed in the 60/40 or 70/30 range, depending on supplier), generally 8×10″ or 12×12″, around $25–$45 from photo suppliers such as B&H and Adorama. B&H Explora's teleprompter primer notes that standard window glass and acrylic are unsuitable because both surfaces reflect, producing a visible double image (B&H Explora — Video).
• Black foam core or matte hardboard — for the hood and base, $10–$15. Matte black absorbs stray light that would otherwise bounce off the glass and reach the lens.
• Mounting hardware — brackets, bolts, hook-and-loop strips, $15–$25. A 1/4″-20 thread adapter lets the rig mount on any standard tripod.
• Lens hood / drape (optional) — black fabric to drape over the camera and prompter to block ambient light from washing out the reflection.

Mounting platform (likely already owned, listed for completeness)

Display device (already owned)

Any tablet or laptop screen with roughly 7″ or more of usable surface works; brighter panels make the reflection more legible, and larger tablets (10″+) give the talent a bigger usable text area. The tablet faces upward; the beamsplitter glass reflects its image down toward the talent.

Camera (already owned, separate from the under-$100 budget)

Any mirrorless, DSLR, or camcorder will work. A flip-out screen helps with single-operator framing through the glass.

Step 1: Cut and Build the Hood

The hood is a five-sided black box that surrounds the beamsplitter glass on the camera side. Its job is light control: with a properly built hood, the only light reaching the camera through the glass is what comes from in front of the rig (the talent), not from above (overhead lights bouncing into the glass). No Film School's teleprompter explainer describes the hood's role in blocking overhead spill as the single largest factor in contrast of the reflected text (No Film School).

1. Cut a base plate from the foam core that’s slightly larger than the beamsplitter glass on all sides — for a 12×12″ glass, a 14×14″ base.
2. Cut two side walls and a top, all in black foam core, to enclose the camera-side volume. The camera lens sits at one open end (the talent side); the rest is enclosed.
3. Cut a circular or rectangular opening in the rear wall sized to your lens diameter, so the lens can shoot through the hood without obstruction.
4. Assemble with hot glue or black gaffer tape. Test for light leaks by holding it up to a bright window from inside — any pinholes will show as bright dots.

Step 2: Mount the Beamsplitter Glass at 45°

The 45° angle is the geometric reason the optics work: it reflects the upward-facing tablet’s image horizontally into the talent’s eyeline while letting the camera see straight through. B&H Explora's teleprompter overview describes the 45° cradle as the defining feature of a beamsplitter-based prompter (B&H Explora — Video); small errors in the cradle angle translate to visible misalignment between the reflected text and the lens axis.

1. Build a glass cradle — two small foam-core triangles glued to the inside walls of the hood, with the hypotenuse cut at exactly 45°.
2. Slide the glass into the cradle. Hold it in place with strips of black gaffer tape on the edges; do not adhesive the glass face itself.
3. Verify the angle with a small protractor or a 45° speed square. Adjust the cradle if needed.

Step 3: Position the Tablet

The tablet sits on the base plate beneath the glass, screen facing up. Its image reflects up into the glass and back to the talent.

1. Center the tablet beneath the glass. The active area of the screen should sit roughly under the center of the glass.
2. Pad with foam or a small riser if needed so the screen surface is parallel to the base plate.
3. Tape or hook-and-loop the tablet in place — once shooting, you do not want it sliding.
4. Set the tablet’s display to maximum brightness. A beamsplitter pane transmits part of the source light and reflects the rest, so the reflected image is appreciably dimmer than the tablet itself; the brighter the source, the more legible the prompt.

Step 4: Mirror the Text Horizontally

A beamsplitter reflects an image laterally reversed — if the tablet shows normal text, the talent will see it as a mirror image. Teleprompter apps handle this with a built-in mirror toggle. Commonly cited options:

• Teleprompter Premium — the developer lists iOS and Android builds with mirror toggle, scroll speed, font size, and foot-pedal support on its product page. Independent reviews for this specific app are thin at the Tier-1 level; confirm current feature set on the developer site before purchasing.
• PromptSmart Lite — per the developer, the app ships a voice-tracking option that follows the talent’s pace, with mirror display. Platform support and feature details are listed on the PromptSmart site (promptsmart.com).
• Parrot Teleprompter — a free browser-based option that runs on a laptop placed under the glass; the Parrot site documents mirror-text support (parrotteleprompter.com).
• BIGVU — commercial teleprompter and recording app; BIGVU's site lists mirror and remote-control support (bigvu.tv).

Whichever app you choose, verify the mirror toggle is on by holding the glass over the tablet and reading the reflected text right-to-left as it would appear to the talent. If it reads naturally to you on the talent side, it’s correctly mirrored.

Step 5: Mount the Camera Behind the Glass

The lens looks through the glass at the talent, who looks back at the lens (and reads the text reflected on the talent side of the glass). The practical goal, as No Film School's prompter explainer puts it, is for the eyeline to land on the lens rather than on the text itself (No Film School).

1. Position the camera so the lens enters the hood through the rear opening, with the front element a few inches behind the glass.
2. Center the lens on the glass — the lens optical axis should be perpendicular to the glass.
3. Confirm focus on the talent, not on the glass surface (auto-focus on most modern cameras handles this; manual focus is more reliable for repeatability).
4. Check for ghost reflections by panning the camera slowly — any visible double-image or hot-spot in the frame means the hood is leaking light or the glass is sitting at the wrong angle.

Step 6: Light the Talent, Not the Glass

Light placed above or in front of the prompter will bounce off the glass and into the lens. Use front-fill lights placed below the lens-line (so reflections go up into the hood’s ceiling and are absorbed) or off to the sides at angles that don’t put the source in the camera’s view through the glass.

Step 7: Dial in Pace, Font Size, and Distance

• Font size: Start with text noticeably larger than you’d read off a monitor at a desk — the talent will be reading from a few feet away, not 12 inches. Enlarge until the script reads comfortably at the framing distance.
• Scroll speed: Slower than feels natural at first — most people set scroll speed too fast and end up speed-reading visibly. Run a 30-second test and check the playback for unnatural pacing.
• Eye position: The talent should look through the glass at the lens, not at the text reflection. Reading the text directly produces a downcast or sideways gaze that defeats the purpose of the prompter.
• Distance: Set the camera-to-talent distance based on framing first; the prompter should be readable at whatever distance the framing requires. If the talent can’t read the prompt at the framing distance, increase font size rather than moving the camera.

Troubleshooting

The reflected text looks washed out or low contrast. Either the tablet brightness is too low, or ambient room light is overwhelming the reflection. Increase tablet brightness, and add a black drape (a piece of fabric or a hoodie) over the back half of the rig to block top-down light from entering the hood.

I see ghosting or a double image of the text. The glass is the wrong type — standard window glass and acrylic have two reflective surfaces (front and back), which is why B&H Explora's teleprompter primer specifies purpose-made beamsplitter panes for prompter use (B&H Explora — Video). A true beamsplitter has a coating that concentrates the reflection on one surface.

The camera autofocus is hunting between the glass and the talent. Switch to manual focus and lock on the talent’s eyes. The glass surface is very close to the lens and confuses contrast-detect AF in particular.

Text appears reversed even with the mirror toggle on. Some apps mirror only the preview, not the projected output. Verify by physically reading through the glass before recording — if it’s reversed there, find the per-app setting that mirrors the actual displayed image.

The prompter rig droops or vibrates with handling. Foam core flexes more than people expect once a tablet is mounted on it. Reinforce with a thin plywood base, or step up to a heavier mounting platform like the Elgato Heavy Base above. For walking shots, a DIY rig is generally not the right tool — rent or borrow a rigged prompter.

When to Buy a Commercial Prompter Instead

A DIY rig is a good fit for occasional studio use with controlled lighting and a single-operator setup. A commercial prompter (Prompter People, Ikan, Datavideo, Glide Gear, and similar) is worth the cost when you’re doing daily shoots, multi-day commercial work, walk-and-talk on a rig that has to survive transport, or live broadcast where a glass slipping in its cradle mid-take is unacceptable. The commercial units also have professional hoods, more rigid mounting, faster glass swaps, and remote scroll control built in.

Sources & Citations

1. Beamsplitter glass vs. window glass / acrylic (ghosting): B&H Photo Video Explora — Video section, teleprompter explainers. bhphotovideo.com/explora/video
2. 45° cradle as the defining optical geometry: B&H Photo Video Explora — Video section. bhphotovideo.com/explora/video
3. Role of the hood in blocking overhead light: No Film School — teleprompter and DIY-rig explainers. nofilmschool.com
4. Eyeline should land on the lens, not the text reflection: No Film School — teleprompter explainers. nofilmschool.com
5. Parrot Teleprompter — mirror display and web platform: Parrot official site. parrotteleprompter.com
6. PromptSmart — voice-tracking and mirror display: PromptSmart official site. promptsmart.com
7. BIGVU — mirror and remote-control support: BIGVU official site. bigvu.tv
8. Elgato Heavy Base Multi Mount — spec and role in the Multi Mount ecosystem: Elgato product page. elgato.com/us/en/p/multi-mount-heavy-base

Last verified: 2026-04-20