Reading Time Calculator
A 1,000-word English non-fiction text takes about 4 minutes 12 seconds to read silently at 238 words per minute, the average adult rate in Brysbaert's 2019 meta-analysis.
How to use
- Paste your text, or leave the box empty and type a word count.
- Pick the language of the text. For English you can also choose non-fiction or fiction.
- Read the times for silent reading, reading aloud and skimming. Type your own words per minute to replace the default.
How it works
Time = number of words ÷ words per minute. Characters are used instead of words for Chinese and Japanese, which have no spaces between words.
Default speeds come from Brysbaert (2019), "How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate", based on 190 studies and 18,573 participants. For English adults the average silent rate is 238 wpm for non-fiction and 260 wpm for fiction, and the average oral rate is 183 wpm. The paper gives a typical range of 175 to 300 wpm for non-fiction.
Other languages use the paper's Table 5 (silent / aloud wpm): Spanish 278 / 191, German 260 / 169, French 214 / 180, Italian 285 / 182, Arabic 181 / 142, Korean 226 / 133. Chinese is 260 / 152 wpm, which this tool converts to 390 / 228 characters per minute with the paper's rule of 1.5 characters per word. The paper has no figure for Japanese and the other languages, so those use the Chinese or English values and are labelled as estimates.
Skimming is set to 450 wpm, a speed Carver proposed in 1992 and Brysbaert cites. His review found no solid evidence for separate gears except between reading and scanning, so treat the skimming time as a rough guide. If you enter your own speed, reading aloud and skimming scale by the same factor.
FAQ
How many words do people read per minute?
Brysbaert (2019) found 238 wpm for silent reading of English non-fiction and 260 wpm for fiction, for adults reading to understand. Source: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2019.104047
Why is my result slower than the 300 wpm I have seen quoted?
The 300 wpm figure is common but the meta-analysis found it too high for average readers. It also notes that real reading is slower than lab rates because of mind wandering and interruptions.
How fast do people read aloud?
About 183 wpm for English, from 77 studies and 5,965 participants in the same paper. Aloud is slower than silent reading in every language it covers.
Do these speeds apply to children or non-native readers?
No. The values are for adults aged 18 to 60 reading their native language without reading problems. Children, older adults and second language readers are slower, so type your own speed.
Is my text sent anywhere?
No. The counting happens in your browser.