Reading time calculator
Paste your text or type a word count to see how long it takes to read silently or to say aloud. The default paces are research averages, 238 and 183 words per minute, and you can set your own.
At 238 words per minute
0 s
0 words
- Silent reading, non-fiction
- 0 s
- Silent reading, fiction
- 0 s
- Reading aloud or speaking
- 0 s
Reading and speaking time by word count
Time for a number of words
| Words | Reading (238 wpm) | Speaking (183 wpm) |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 26 s | 33 s |
| 250 | 1 min 4 s | 1 min 22 s |
| 500 | 2 min 7 s | 2 min 44 s |
| 750 | 3 min 10 s | 4 min 6 s |
| 1,000 | 4 min 13 s | 5 min 28 s |
| 1,500 | 6 min 19 s | 8 min 12 s |
| 2,000 | 8 min 25 s | 10 min 56 s |
| 3,000 | 12 min 37 s | 16 min 24 s |
| 5,000 | 21 min 1 s | 27 min 20 s |
Words for a time slot
| Slot | Spoken (183 wpm) | Read (238 wpm) |
|---|---|---|
| 30 seconds | 91 | 119 |
| 1 minute | 183 | 238 |
| 2 minutes | 366 | 476 |
| 3 minutes | 549 | 714 |
| 5 minutes | 915 | 1,190 |
| 10 minutes | 1,830 | 2,380 |
| 20 minutes | 3,660 | 4,760 |
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time is the number of words divided by a reading pace in words per minute, rounded up to the next second. A 1,190-word article at 238 words per minute takes 5 minutes. The calculator counts the words in your text the same way as the word counter, or uses the number you type.
Where do 238 and 183 words per minute come from?
From a 2019 review by Marc Brysbaert in the Journal of Memory and Language, which pooled 190 studies of silent reading and 77 of reading aloud. It found that adults reading English silently average 238 words per minute for non-fiction and 260 for fiction, and that reading aloud averages 183. The paper notes these are lower than figures often quoted, and most adults fall between 175 and 300 for non-fiction.
How long is a speech or a video script of a given length?
At 183 words per minute, a 1-minute script is about 183 words, a 2-minute one about 366, and a 5-minute talk about 915. Speakers who pause for slides or emphasis go slower, so time a rehearsal and set your own pace if it differs.
Should I show reading time on my blog?
Many publishers do, so readers can decide whether to start now or save the piece for later. Use a pace that fits your readers: technical text is read more slowly than a story, and readers in a second language are slower too.
Questions about the reading time
What is the average reading speed?
238 words per minute for silent reading of English non-fiction and 260 for fiction, according to Brysbaert’s 2019 meta-analysis.
What is the average speaking rate?
The same review gives 183 words per minute for reading aloud. Conversation and rehearsed talks vary around that.
Can I calculate from a word count without pasting text?
Yes. Leave the text box empty and type the number of words into the word count field.
Does the calculator count images or code?
No. It counts words only. If your article has many images, charts or code samples, readers will take longer than the estimate.
Why is my reading time different from other sites?
Tools pick their own paces, often round numbers such as 200 or 250 words per minute, and some add seconds for images. This calculator uses 238 for silent reading because that is the average the 2019 meta-analysis found for non-fiction; switch to 260 for fiction or set your own number to match another tool.
Is the text sent anywhere?
No. Words are counted in your browser and nothing is stored.
More counters
- Word counterWords, characters, sentences, readability and every limit at once.
- Character counterCharacters with and without spaces, bytes, and platform limits.
- SEO title lengthTitle and meta description width in pixels, with a results preview.
- Tweet lengthAn X post counted the way X counts: links 23, emoji 2.
- SMS counterGSM-7 or UCS-2, segments, and the characters that cost you.
- Keyword densityTop words and phrases, and how often your keyword appears.
Sources and limits
- How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate
Average adult silent reading in English: 238 words per minute for non-fiction and 260 for fiction; reading aloud: 183 words per minute.
Marc Brysbaert, Journal of Memory and Language (2019). Cited reference: we could not open the full text, so the value is the one commonly reproduced from it.
Platforms change their limits without notice and some count emoji or links in ways they do not document. Treat every meter as a check before you post; the platform’s own editor has the last word. Nothing you type leaves your browser.