Reading time calculator

Based on 238 words per minute: the measured average for silent reading of non-fiction, not the optimistic 300 that many estimators assume.

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Where 238 words per minute comes from

Brysbaert’s 2019 meta-analysis pooled results across dozens of reading studies and put average silent reading of English non-fiction at roughly 238 words per minute, with fiction slightly faster at around 260. That is well below the 300 figure many blog plugins use, and the gap matters: on a 2,000-word article it is the difference between a claimed seven minutes and an actual eight and a half.

Reading speed also varies far more between people than most estimates admit. A comfortable range for adult readers runs from about 175 to 300 words per minute on ordinary prose. Any single number is a midpoint, not a prediction.

Words	At 200 wpm	At 238 wpm	At 300 wpm
300	1.5 min	1.3 min	1 min
600	3 min	2.5 min	2 min
1,000	5 min	4.2 min	3.3 min
1,500	7.5 min	6.3 min	5 min
2,000	10 min	8.4 min	6.7 min
3,000	15 min	12.6 min	10 min
5,000	25 min	21 min	16.7 min
10,000	50 min	42 min	33.3 min

What slows readers down

The word count sets a floor. Everything below adds time the arithmetic does not capture.

Technical density. Unfamiliar terms can halve effective speed, because the reader stops to build meaning.
Tables and figures. Readers pause on these far longer than the equivalent words would take.
Code blocks. Read line by line, not scanned. Budget generously.
Reading on a phone. Slightly slower than desktop, and much more likely to be interrupted.
Second-language readers. Typically 30 to 50 per cent slower in a language learned later.

If you publish a reading-time label, round it down rather than up. A reader who finishes early feels efficient; a reader still going at the stated time feels misled.

Reading time versus speaking time

Speaking runs roughly 40 per cent slower than silent reading, because speech is limited by articulation and breath rather than comprehension. This is why a script that takes six minutes to read takes ten to deliver, and why rehearsing in your head is a poor guide to whether a talk fits its slot.

Common questions

How long does 1,000 words take to read?

About four minutes and ten seconds at the average silent reading speed of 238 words per minute. Slower readers may take five minutes; faster readers around three.

Why is your estimate longer than other tools'?

Because many tools assume 300 words per minute, which sits at the upper end of measured adult reading speeds rather than the middle. We use the average from the research literature, so the estimate holds for more readers.

Should I show reading time on my articles?

It reliably increases the proportion of readers who start a piece, because it converts an unknown commitment into a known one. Keep it honest: an understated figure erodes trust faster than a long one deters clicks.