How reading time is calculated
Reading time is the number of words divided by the reading speed in words per minute. The default speed here is 238 words per minute, a widely quoted average for adults reading non-fiction silently, taken from a 2019 review of reading studies by Marc Brysbaert. Real readers vary a lot, so treat the result as an estimate. Slow down for difficult or technical text, and speed up for light reading.
Reading speeds
| Reader | Words per minute (approx.) |
|---|---|
| Slow or careful reading | 150 |
| Average adult, silent reading | 238 |
| Fast reader | 300 |
| Skimming | 450 or more |
Reading time by length
At 238 words per minute:
| Words | Reading time |
|---|---|
| 500 | about 2 minutes |
| 1,000 | about 4 minutes |
| 1,500 | about 6 minutes |
| 2,000 | about 8 minutes |
| 3,000 | about 13 minutes |
| 5,000 | about 21 minutes |
Time for images
Readers stop to look at pictures, so the tool can add time for them. It uses a method popularised by Medium: 12 seconds for the first image, 11 for the second, and so on down to 3 seconds for every image after the tenth. Enter the number of images in the box and the total updates.
Add a min read label to your site
Round the time up to whole minutes and show at least 1 minute. In JavaScript and PHP:
// JavaScript
const minutes = Math.max(1, Math.ceil(words / 238));
// PHP
$minutes = max(1, (int) ceil($words / 238));The tool shows this label for your text, for example 5 min read.
Reading time and speaking time
Reading aloud is slower than reading silently. To plan a speech or a video script, use the speaking time calculator.
Related tools
Count the words first with the word counter, check a long assignment with the essay word counter, or see which terms repeat in the keyword density checker. Read more in the word count guide.