Reading Time Calculator
Turn a word count into reading time at research-based adult reading rates or your own measured pace, with a daily reading plan and a rough page estimate.
What is a reading time calculator?
This reading time calculator turns a word count into an estimate of how long a text takes to read. Pick silent reading of non-fiction, silent reading of fiction, reading aloud, or your own words-per-minute rate. It shows the Reading time in hours, minutes and seconds, the same length as Minutes (decimal) and Total seconds, the Words per minute used, a Spread over days line for planning a book or a reading assignment, and a rough Book pages estimate.
The three preset rates come from a 2019 review and meta-analysis by Marc Brysbaert in the Journal of Memory and Language, which pooled 190 studies of silent reading with 18,573 participants. It puts the average silent reading rate of adults reading English at 238 words per minute (wpm) for non-fiction and 260 wpm for fiction. The average for reading aloud is 183 wpm, based on 77 studies. These figures are lower than the 300 wpm that is often quoted. Brysbaert calls a 300 wpm target unrealistic for most people, so this calculator no longer offers it.
An average is not your personal speed. The same review reports that most adults read non-fiction silently at 175 to 300 wpm and fiction at 200 to 320 wpm. It also finds that children, older adults and people reading in a second language read more slowly. Use a preset for a typical adult reader, or time yourself and enter a custom rate, as explained below.
Formula
Reading time in seconds = word count ÷ words per minute × 60, rounded to the nearest whole second.
The calculator rounds once and then splits the total into hours, minutes and seconds, so the display can never read "3 min 60 sec". Minutes (decimal) is the rounded total seconds ÷ 60.
| Reading style | Words per minute used | What it represents |
|---|---|---|
| Silent reading, non-fiction | 238 | Average adult silent reading rate for English non-fiction (Brysbaert, 2019) |
| Silent reading, fiction | 260 | Average adult silent reading rate for English fiction |
| Reading aloud | 183 | Average adult oral reading rate |
| Custom WPM | Your number, from 50 to 1,500 (250 if the box is empty) | Your own measured pace |
Spread over days
Days at 20 minutes a day = total seconds ÷ 1,200, and days at 1 hour a day = total seconds ÷ 3,600, each rounded up to a whole day, with a minimum of 1. Rounding up reflects that a final short session still takes a day.
Book pages
Pages = word count ÷ 300. The 300 words per page is a fixed assumption built into the tool, not a measured standard. Real pages vary with the book's page size, font, margins and how much short-line dialogue it has, so treat this output as a rough guide.
Adjusting for difficult text
Brysbaert found that much of the gap between easy and hard texts is explained by word length. He suggests estimating the rate for a particular text as 238 × 4.6 ÷ the text's average word length in letters. For his own article, with words averaging 5.1 letters, that gives about 215 wpm. For a dense textbook, a custom rate below 238 is usually more realistic than the preset.
Worked example
Example 1: a 1,500-word article
- Silent reading, non-fiction: 1,500 ÷ 238 = 6.3025 minutes, and 6.3025 × 60 = 378.15 seconds, which rounds to 378 seconds.
- 378 seconds = 6 × 60 + 18, so the Reading time is 6 min 18 sec, and Minutes (decimal) shows 6.30.
- Read aloud instead: 1,500 ÷ 183 × 60 = 491.8 seconds, which rounds to 492, or 8 min 12 sec (8.20 minutes).
- Book pages: 1,500 ÷ 300 = 5.0.
Example 2: a 90,000-word novel
- Silent reading, fiction: 90,000 ÷ 260 = 346.1538 minutes = 20,769.23 seconds, which rounds to 20,769.
- 20,769 seconds = 5 hours (18,000 seconds) plus 2,769 seconds, and 2,769 = 46 × 60 + 9. The Reading time is 5 h 46 min 9 sec, or 346.15 minutes.
- Spread over days: 20,769 ÷ 1,200 = 17.3, rounded up to 18, and 20,769 ÷ 3,600 = 5.8, rounded up to 6. The tool shows "At 20 minutes a day: about 18 days; at 1 hour a day: about 6 days".
- Book pages: 90,000 ÷ 300 = 300.0, an estimate only.
With the non-fiction rate of 238 wpm, the same 90,000 words take 6 h 18 min 9 sec, about half an hour longer.
Example 3: your own pace for a textbook chapter
- You read a page of your textbook for exactly 2 minutes and count 440 words: 440 ÷ 2 = 220 wpm.
- Choose Custom WPM and enter 220. For a 7,500-word chapter: 7,500 ÷ 220 × 60 = 2,045.45 seconds, which rounds to 2,045, or 34 min 5 sec (34.08 minutes).
- Spread over days: "At 20 minutes a day: about 2 days; at 1 hour a day: about 1 day".
The non-fiction preset would have said 31 min 31 sec, 2 min 34 sec less. For one chapter the gap is small, but over a term of reading it adds up, which is why a measured rate is worth the two minutes it takes.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the Word count. Most word processors have a word count tool; for a printed text, count the words on a few typical lines, multiply by lines per page and then by pages.
- Choose the Reading style: non-fiction for articles, reports and textbooks; fiction for novels and stories; reading aloud for read-alouds and scripts; Custom WPM for your own pace.
- If you chose Custom, enter your rate in Custom WPM (only for "Custom"). The box is ignored for the other styles, and an empty box counts as 250.
- Read the Reading time. Use Total seconds or Minutes (decimal) for a schedule or script, and Spread over days to plan a book.
How to measure your own reading rate
- Choose a passage similar to what you plan to read, because rates differ between easy and hard texts.
- Read at your normal pace, reading to understand, for a timed 2 to 5 minutes.
- Count the words you read and divide by the minutes. Repeat with a second passage and use the average.
Limits of the estimate
- It assumes steady reading with no breaks. Brysbaert notes that rates in less controlled situations are likely to be lower because of mind wandering and interruptions.
- Studying takes longer than reading: rereading, notes and problem sets are not included.
- The preset rates describe adults aged 18 to 60 without reading problems, reading English as a native language.
To estimate a book's length from its page count, read how long it takes to read a book. To see how a word count translates into typed pages, use the word count to page count calculator.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What is the average reading speed for adults?
Brysbaert's 2019 meta-analysis puts the average silent reading rate for adults reading English at 238 words per minute for non-fiction and 260 for fiction, and the average reading-aloud rate at 183. Most adults read non-fiction silently at 175 to 300 words per minute and fiction at 200 to 320. The figures apply to adults aged 18 to 60 without reading problems, reading in their native language.
Why doesn't the calculator use 300 words per minute?
The 300 wpm figure is widely quoted, but Brysbaert's review found that the evidence points to lower averages and described 300 wpm as an unrealistic target for most people. Earlier versions of this page offered 300 wpm and 500 wpm options without a source, so they were removed. If you have measured yourself at 300 wpm or more, enter that as a Custom WPM.
Can speed reading cut the time in half?
Not with full understanding. Brysbaert's review cites a 2016 review by Rayner and colleagues that explained why rates above 1,000 words per minute are impossible without a severe loss of understanding. Brysbaert found good evidence for only one real switch in reading speed: from reading to scanning, where you look for a particular word instead of following the text. The Custom box accepts up to 1,500 wpm, but a time based on a scanning speed is not a reading time.
How long will it take me to read a book?
Enter the book's word count and choose the fiction or non-fiction preset, or your own rate. A 90,000-word novel takes 5 h 46 min 9 sec at 260 wpm, or about 18 days at 20 minutes a day (Example 2). To check that a plan fits before a book club or due date, count the days you have with the days until date calculator. If you only know the page count, word counts per page vary too much to convert reliably; counting the words on a few typical pages gives a much better estimate than the tool's 300-words-per-page figure.
Can I use it to time a speech or a video script?
Yes, with care. The 183 wpm preset is the average rate for reading a text aloud. Brysbaert's review notes that audiobooks are spoken at roughly 140 to 180 words per minute. A talk with pauses for slides or emphasis may run slower still, so rehearse a section, count the words, and enter your own rate as a Custom WPM. Total seconds is convenient for video and audio editing. If you need to cut a script to fit a time slot, see writing to a word count.
Why does Minutes (decimal) say 6.30 when the time is 6 min 18 sec?
Decimal minutes are fractions of a minute, not seconds. 0.30 of a minute is 0.30 × 60 = 18 seconds, so 6.30 minutes and 6 min 18 sec are the same length. Use the decimal form for spreadsheets and the minutes-and-seconds form for reading aloud to people.
Does this work for children's reading?
The presets describe adults, and Brysbaert reports that reading rates are lower for children. For a child, the best approach is to time them reading a typical book page for a few minutes, work out their words per minute and enter that as a Custom WPM. Rates also change as children grow, so measure again every few months.
Why does Spread over days say 1 day for a short article?
Days are rounded up to whole days with a minimum of 1, because even a short session takes place on some day. A 1,500-word article takes 6 min 18 sec, well under the 20-minute session, so both plans read "about 1 day". The line is most useful for long texts such as novels and course readers.