Die Mindestlaufzeit beträgt zwei Jahre.

Because Mindestlaufzeit is a feminine noun, so its nominative singular article is die.

A useful rule here is that in German compound nouns, the last part determines the gender.

• Mindestlaufzeit = Mindest-
  • Laufzeit
• The final part is Zeit (time / period), and die Zeit is feminine.

So the whole compound is also feminine: die Mindestlaufzeit.

It is a compound noun:

• Mindest- = minimum
• Laufzeit = term, duration, period of validity, runtime

So Mindestlaufzeit means the minimum contract term or minimum duration, depending on context.

This is a very common kind of German word formation: instead of using several separate words, German often combines them into one noun.

Beträgt is the 3rd person singular form of betragen.

In this sentence, betragen means something like:

• to amount to
• to come to
• to be (in a more formal, factual sense)

So Die Mindestlaufzeit beträgt zwei Jahre is more formal and idiomatic than simply using ist.

You often see betragen with:

• prices: Der Preis beträgt 20 Euro.
• durations: Die Wartezeit beträgt 30 Minuten.
• percentages or measurements: Die Gebühr beträgt 5 Prozent.

Because betragen is the normal verb in German for stating an exact amount, duration, price, or measurement.

Compare:

• Die Mindestlaufzeit ist zwei Jahre. → understandable, but less natural
• Die Mindestlaufzeit beträgt zwei Jahre. → standard and idiomatic

So although ist might seem like the direct English-style choice, German usually prefers beträgt in this kind of statement.

Because German main clauses usually follow the verb-second rule.

Here the sentence is:

• Die Mindestlaufzeit = first element
• beträgt = verb in second position
• zwei Jahre = rest of the sentence

So the structure is:

Subject + verb + other information

This is one of the most important basic word-order rules in German.

Because after betragen, the duration is expressed as a direct object-like phrase, and here you use accusative plural.

With the numeral zwei, the plural form is:

• zwei Jahre

You get Jahren in the dative plural, for example:

• seit zwei Jahren = for two years
• in zwei Jahren = in two years

So:

• Die Mindestlaufzeit beträgt zwei Jahre. ✔
• Die Mindestlaufzeit beträgt zwei Jahren. ✘

Yes, you can think of it that way.

In sentences with betragen, the amount, price, length, or duration is typically the thing being stated, and it behaves like an accusative object:

• Der Preis beträgt 10 Euro.
• Die Strecke beträgt 5 Kilometer.
• Die Mindestlaufzeit beträgt zwei Jahre.

So zwei Jahre is the amount/duration being given.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• beträgt ≈ buh-TRAYKT

A few helpful points:

• the ä sounds somewhat like the vowel in bed, but longer here
• the g at the end is often pronounced more like k in standard German speech

So it may sound closer to beträkt than an English speaker might expect from the spelling.

A rough guide is:

• Mindestlaufzeit ≈ MIN-dest-louf-tsite

Broken down:

• Mindest → MIN-dest
• Lauf rhymes roughly with cow but with an l in front
• Zeit sounds like tsite

German compound nouns are usually stressed on the first part, so the main stress is on MIN.

Yes, but it is not exactly the same.

• Die Mindestlaufzeit beträgt zwei Jahre.
  = The minimum term is two years.

• Die Laufzeit beträgt mindestens zwei Jahre.
  = The term is at least two years.

These are very close in meaning, but the emphasis is slightly different:

• Mindestlaufzeit names the concept itself
• mindestens adds the idea of at least to Laufzeit

Both are possible, but the original sentence is especially common in contracts, subscriptions, and official terms and conditions.

You would often see it in formal or semi-formal contexts such as:

• phone contracts
• internet plans
• gym memberships
• magazine subscriptions
• insurance agreements
• software or service contracts

In these contexts, Mindestlaufzeit is a very common word, because companies often specify the minimum time you must keep the contract before cancelling.