Reading Time Calculator – How Long to Read?
Paste any text and instantly see how long it will take to read at your reading speed. Adjust the words-per-minute slider to match slow, average, or fast readers.
Presets: Slow (200), Average (238), Fast (265), Speed-reading (300)
How to Use
- 1
Paste or type the text you want to measure in the input field
- 2
Adjust the reading speed slider or click a preset (200, 238, 265, or 300 WPM)
- 3
See the estimated reading time and text statistics update instantly
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average adult reading speed?
The average adult reads about 238 words per minute for non-fiction, according to research. For fiction, the average is slightly higher (~260 WPM). The medium preset of 238 WPM is a good default for most use cases.
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time = word count ÷ words per minute. For example, a 1,000-word article at 238 WPM takes about 4 minutes and 12 seconds.
What WPM should I use for blog posts?
For a general audience, 238 WPM is the standard used by Medium and other content platforms. This is a widely accepted average for informational content.
Does the tool count HTML or Markdown syntax?
No filtering is applied — all text is counted as-is. If you paste HTML or Markdown source, the tags and symbols will be included in the word count. For accurate results, paste the plain text content.
How this is calculated
seconds = (words / words-per-minute) × 60
What this assumes
- The default is 238 words per minute. That is not a round guess: it is the mean silent reading rate for English non-fiction found in a 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies.
- Reading speed varies widely by person and text. The field is editable, so set your own rate if you know it.
Source: Brysbaert M. (2019), Journal of Memory and Language, meta-analysis of reading rate
Estimate how long a text takes to read
A reading time calculator estimates how many minutes a piece of text will take to read, based on a typical reading speed. Paste your text and get a clear "X min read" figure.
It is the number behind the reading-time labels you see on blogs and articles.
Why show a reading time
- Adding a reading-time estimate to articles and blog posts.
- Planning how long a presentation script will take.
- Setting reader expectations up front.
- For exact counts use the word counter; to shorten a long piece, the text summarizer.
Your article is never uploaded
The estimate is calculated in your browser, so your text is never uploaded.