Reading Time Calculator
Paste any text, or just type a word count, and this reading time calculator tells you how long it takes to read silently and to read aloud. Choose a slower or faster pace to match your audience. Everything runs in your browser.
Calculated in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Reading time
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Speaking time
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What Is a Reading Time Calculator?
From Word Count to Minutes
A reading time calculator divides the number of words by a reading speed, so a 2,400-word paper at 238 words a minute takes about ten minutes. Speaking time works the same way, with a slower speed in words per minute.
Silent Reading and Speaking Time
People speak more slowly than they read, so the reading time calculator gives both: silent reading for articles and papers, and speaking time for talks, lectures and recordings. Both figures update together, so one paste answers two questions.
A Pace You Can Adjust
Adult readers manage about 238 words a minute on average. Choose slow or fast to match a technical audience, a second language or a quick skim. The default speeds come from published research rather than guesswork.
Why Use Our Reading Time Calculator?
Paste Text or Type a Number
Paste the whole text, or type a word count if you already know it; the reading time calculator works either way. Pasted text also shows its word count, which is handy on its own.
Plan Talks to the Minute
Rehearsing is easier when the reading time calculator has already told you a script runs eight minutes, before you ever stand up. Teachers can size reading assignments the same way.
Browse all free LaTeX toolsCheck Length in Characters Too
For limits measured in characters, the character counter gives totals with and without spaces. Both tools run entirely in your browser.
Open the character counterHow to Use It in 3 Steps
Step 1: Add Your Text
Paste the text into the box, or type its word count instead. Any language works, from English to Chinese.
Step 2: Choose a Pace
Pick a reading speed and a speaking speed that suit your readers or your audience. The slow settings suit dense or technical writing.
Step 3: Read the Estimate
The reading time calculator shows minutes and seconds for both, updating as you edit. No sign-up is needed to use it again.
Convert notes or slides to LaTeX
Reading Time Calculator FAQ
- How much time does it take to read 100 pages?
- At about 300 words a page and 238 words a minute, 100 pages take roughly two hours of silent reading. Dense textbooks take longer; type your own word count above for a closer figure. Taking notes or reading in a second language can double the time.
- How to calculate reading time?
- Divide the number of words by a reading speed in words per minute. At an average of 238, a 1,500-word article takes about 6 minutes 18 seconds. Round up to whole minutes when you show the figure to readers.
- How much time will it take to read this?
- Paste the text above and the reading time calculator answers straight away, both for reading silently and for reading aloud. Edit the text and the estimate changes with it, so you can trim a draft to a target length.
- How does Medium calculate read time?
- Medium bases its estimate on an average speed of 265 words per minute and adds 12 seconds for the first image, a little less for each image after that. Its figure is therefore a little shorter than this calculator gives at the default 238 words a minute.
- How much time does it take to read 1000 words?
- About four minutes at the average silent pace of 238 words a minute, and about seven minutes read aloud at 140 words a minute. A typical journal article of 5,000 words takes about 21 minutes to read silently.
- What is reading time?
- An estimate of how long a typical reader needs to get through a text. Blogs and news sites show it so readers can decide whether to start now or save it for later. It is an average, so fast readers finish sooner and careful readers later.
- What is the average reading time?
- Adults read non-fiction silently at about 238 words per minute and fiction slightly faster, according to a 2019 review of 190 studies. Individual speeds vary widely. Older figures of 300 words a minute or more come from studies with easier texts.
- How much time to read 1 page out loud?
- A page of about 300 words takes roughly two minutes to read aloud at a comfortable 140 words a minute, and a little longer if the text is technical. Pauses for slides or questions add more on top.
- How long will my speech or presentation take?
- Paste your script into the reading time calculator and read the speaking time. At 140 words a minute, a ten-minute talk needs about 1,400 words; slow down for technical material. Leave a minute or two spare for questions and slide changes.
- How do I calculate my reading speed?
- Read for exactly one minute and count the words you got through, or time yourself on a text whose word count you know and divide the words by the minutes. Enter your own figure here by choosing the closest speed in the list.
- How do I show reading time on a blog or website?
- Count the words of each post, divide by about 238 and round up to whole minutes. Most blogging platforms and themes can do this automatically once it is switched on. Showing the estimate near the title tends to keep readers on the page.
- Does the reading time calculator work for Chinese and other languages?
- Yes. Words are counted the usual way for languages with spaces, and each Chinese, Japanese or Korean character counts as one. Reading speeds in characters differ, so treat it as a guide. For Chinese, about 300 to 500 characters a minute is a common reading rate.
- How long is an audiobook of my text?
- Narrators usually record at about 150 to 160 words per minute, so an 80,000-word book becomes an audiobook of roughly eight and a half to nine hours. Choose the fast speaking speed here to approximate a professional narrator.
- Which reading speed does the calculator use?
- By default, 238 words a minute for silent reading, the average for adult non-fiction readers, and 140 for speaking. Pick a slower or faster pace to suit your audience. This reading time calculator keeps the speeds you choose until you close the page.
- Is my text saved anywhere?
- No. The text is counted in your browser and never sent anywhere. Closing the tab clears it completely.
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