Reading Time Calculator
Paste any text to find out how long it takes to read.
How reading time is calculated
This calculator uses a reading speed of 238 words per minute — the average silent reading rate for adults for non-fiction, from a 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies by psychologist Marc Brysbaert (fiction averaged about 260 wpm).
Reading speed by context
| Reader type | Words per minute |
|---|---|
| Average adult (silent) | 238 wpm |
| Fast reader | 350–400 wpm |
| Audiobook narration | 150–160 wpm |
| Formal speech / presentation | 130–150 wpm |
| Conversational speech | 120–130 wpm |
For blog posts: Medium, for example, bases its reading-time label on about 265 wpm. This calculator defaults to the research-based 238 wpm — change the speed below to match your audience.
Frequently asked questions
About 4 minutes 12 seconds at the average silent reading speed of 238 words per minute, or under 4 minutes for a fast reader at 300 wpm.
A typical novel chapter runs 2,500–5,000 words, which takes 10–21 minutes to read at average speed. Non-fiction chapters tend to be longer: 4,000–8,000 words, or 17–34 minutes.
Silent reading averages 238 wpm; speaking aloud averages 130 wpm for presentations and up to 160 wpm for conversational speech. A 10-minute read typically becomes a 17–20 minute speech.