50 to 1000
130 is a relaxed talking pace
How to use
Add your text or a count
Paste text, press Open file, or fetch a page by URL. Or switch to Enter a word count or Book pages. The Words total and all times update straight away, with no button to press.
Set reading and speaking speed
Click a preset such as Slow 150, Default 200, Average adult 238 or Fast 300, or type your own number. Change Speaking speed if your talk is faster or slower than 130.
Copy the read time label
The tool builds a label like 7 min read, rounded up to the next whole minute. Click Copy label for your blog template, or set Minutes of reading per day to see how many days a long read takes.
Why Reading Time Calculator
- Reading time at any speed from 50 to 1000 words per minute, plus speaking time.
- Exact minutes and seconds, a speed table and a days-to-finish estimate.
- Works from text, a file, a URL, a word count or book pages.
- A copy-ready X min read label for blog posts.
Reading time for common word counts
Times below are exact, rounded to the nearest second. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute. Use the row closest to your draft, or paste the text above for an exact figure. Double the 1,000 word row for 2,000 words and so on, since reading time grows in a straight line with length. Real readers vary, so treat any figure as an estimate for an average reader rather than a promise.
| Words | Slow (150 wpm) | Default (200 wpm) | Average adult (238 wpm) | Fast (300 wpm) | Spoken (130 wpm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | 3 min 20 sec | 2 min 30 sec | 2 min 6 sec | 1 min 40 sec | 3 min 51 sec |
| 1,000 | 6 min 40 sec | 5 min | 4 min 12 sec | 3 min 20 sec | 7 min 42 sec |
| 1,500 | 10 min | 7 min 30 sec | 6 min 18 sec | 5 min | 11 min 32 sec |
| 2,000 | 13 min 20 sec | 10 min | 8 min 24 sec | 6 min 40 sec | 15 min 23 sec |
| 3,000 | 20 min | 15 min | 12 min 36 sec | 10 min | 23 min 5 sec |
| 5,000 | 33 min 20 sec | 25 min | 21 min 1 sec | 16 min 40 sec | 38 min 28 sec |
Choosing a words per minute speed
No single speed fits every reader, so pick the one that matches your audience and the kind of text. The formula is always the same: words divided by speed gives minutes.
If you publish a read time on a blog, use one speed across the whole site so the labels are consistent from post to post.
- 150 words per minute: technical documentation, legal text, children and people reading in a second language.
- 200 words per minute: a cautious default for general web content read on phones.
- 238 words per minute: average adult silent reading of non-fiction in the 2019 Brysbaert review.
- 300 words per minute: fast, practised readers and light content.
- 130 words per minute: a relaxed speaking pace for presentations, voiceovers and podcasts.