Reading Time Calculator
Paste or type your text — see estimated reading time at several common reading speeds, live as you type.
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Reading Time Calculator — How Long Will This Take to Read?
This reading time calculator estimates how long your text takes to read at four common reading speeds, updating live as you type or paste. The default "Read time" stat above uses the average adult silent-reading speed of 238 words per minute.
Writing for the ear instead of the eye? The words per minute calculator measures your own reading or speaking speed.
Why reading time matters
- Blog posts — showing a "5 min read" label at the top of an article is a well-established UX pattern that sets reader expectations.
- Email newsletters — knowing your read time helps you keep updates skimmable for busy subscribers.
- Video & podcast scripts — estimate how long a script will take to read at a natural pace before recording.
- Course & documentation content — estimated reading time helps learners plan their study sessions.
How reading speed varies
Average adult silent-reading speed is commonly cited around 200–250 words per minute, though this varies by content difficulty, familiarity, and individual reading skill. Technical or dense material is usually read more slowly than casual prose. The table above shows your text's estimated time across a slow (150 wpm), average (238 wpm), fast (300 wpm), and speed-reading (400 wpm) pace.
All calculations run entirely in your browser. Your text is never sent to any server. See also: word counter · FAQ.
Frequently Asked Questions
Reading time is estimated by dividing your total word count by a reading speed in words per minute (wpm). The main “Read time” stat uses 238 wpm, a commonly cited average for adult silent reading; the table below it shows the same text at 150, 238, 300, and 400 wpm.
Most studies cite average adult silent-reading speed at roughly 200–250 words per minute for general-audience text. Speed varies with content difficulty, font, familiarity with the topic, and individual reading ability.
At the commonly used average of 238 words per minute, a 5-minute read is roughly 1,150–1,200 words. At a more conservative 200 wpm, it's closer to 1,000 words.
No — people typically read silently faster than they speak aloud. Reading time here assumes ~238 wpm; speaking time (shown as a separate stat) assumes a slower ~130 wpm, closer to natural speech pace.