Reading time calculator
How long a text takes to read, silently or aloud.
Calculator inputs
Results
Enter your values and press “Calculate” to see the result.
In short
- What it calculates
- How long a text takes to read, silently or aloud.
- Formula used
Minutes = words ÷ words per minute- Example
- A 1,500-word text at 200 words per minute:
Reading time calculator
Showing “5 min read” at the top of an article makes people more likely to finish it. For a talk or a script, knowing how long it runs when read aloud stops you overrunning.
Both figures are here.
How it works
Words are counted and divided by the speed you set. Two extra references are shown: unhurried reading and reading aloud, which is slower than silent reading.
Formula
Minutes = words ÷ words per minute
References: 200 wpm silently, 150 wpm aloud, 130 wpm unhurried
Worked example
A 1,500-word text at 200 words per minute:
Reading: 7 min 30 s
Aloud: 10 minutes
Explanation
Two hundred and fifty words a minute is an average
An adult reads silently at between 200 and 300 words a minute in their native language with ordinary text. The ranges published vary by study and by material, which is why estimates on different websites differ for the same article.
The type of text changes everything
A novel reads far faster than a technical text with formulas, a legal contract or an article in a language you only half command. With dense material, speed can halve because you have to reread and pause to think.
Reading aloud is much slower
It runs around 150 words a minute, because articulation imposes a physical limit that does not exist in silent reading. It is the figure broadcasters and presenters use to work out script length, and it explains why a thousand-word text takes about seven minutes of audio.
Why the figure is displayed
Showing an estimated time at the start of an article reduces abandonment: the reader decides with information rather than leaving at the sight of a long scrollbar.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average reading speed?
Between 200 and 250 words per minute reading general text silently. Technical material slows that pace considerably.
Why is reading aloud slower?
Because articulation sets a physical limit: around 150 words per minute at a natural, intelligible pace.
How long does a thousand words take to read aloud?
About seven minutes, at roughly 150 words a minute. Silently it would be four or five.
Why do other sites give a different time?
Because each uses a different reference speed, between 200 and 275 words a minute depending on the study they rely on.
Need to calculate something else?
These tools are often used alongside this calculator.
Word count
Words, characters, sentences and paragraphs in any text.
Character count
Characters with and without spaces, lines and bytes in a text.
Keyword density
How often your keyword appears and how much weight it carries.
Title and meta
Characters and approximate pixel width of your SEO tags.
Change case
Turn text into uppercase, lowercase, title case, snake_case or camelCase.