Reading Time Calculator
Paste your text and see how long it takes to read silently (238 wpm research average) and to deliver aloud (150 wpm) — live as you edit toward a time target.
Planning to a time budget
Working backward from time is often easier than forward from words: a "3-minute read" is about 714 words, a 10-minute conference talk about 1500 spoken words, and a 30-second radio spot roughly 75. Draft, paste, and trim until the live figure hits your slot — the counter updates as you cut.
Worked examples, and where the estimate bends
The arithmetic is deliberately simple — word count divided by the pace — so the examples are exact: a 500-word article reads in about 2 min 6 sec, 1,000 words in 4 min 12 sec, and 1,500 words in 6 min 18 sec at the 238 wpm silent-reading average. A 650-word application essay is a 2 min 44 sec read. Spoken aloud at 150 wpm, 750 words fills 5 minutes exactly — a handy anchor when a call for talks gives you a time slot instead of a word limit.
Two honest caveats keep these numbers useful. First, the 238 figure is a meta-analysis average for adults silently reading ordinary non-fiction prose; individual rates in the underlying studies ranged widely, fiction tends to read somewhat faster, and skimming is faster still, so treat the estimate as the center of a range rather than a deadline. Second, the divisor is this site's word count, which has its own conventions: a URL counts as several word-tokens and a decimal number as two, so text dense with links, code, or tables will show slightly more "words" — and therefore more minutes — than a reader actually experiences. For normal prose the effect is negligible; for a changelog full of URLs, mentally round down. Delivery pacing cuts the other way: pauses for slides, demos, or audience laughter add time the formula cannot see, which is why rehearsing with a timer still beats any calculator for a talk that matters.
Frequently asked questions
Where do the 238 and 150 wpm figures come from?
The silent-reading figure is the average for adults reading non-fiction in a large published meta-analysis of reading-rate studies (Brysbaert, 2019); the speaking figure reflects typical prepared-speech pacing guidance of roughly 125–150 wpm. Both are averages — real audiences and speakers vary.
Why do blogs show different reading times for the same length?
Different assumed speeds. Publishing tools commonly use anything from 200 to 265 wpm, which is why one platform says "4 min read" and another "5 min" for the same article. The length is fact; the minutes are convention.
How long is a 5-minute speech?
At 150 wpm, about 750 words — a useful planning anchor. Slower, more deliberate delivery (or pauses for slides and laughs) reduces that; energetic delivery raises it. Rehearsing with a timer beats any formula.
Does complexity change reading time?
Yes — dense technical prose reads slower than a listicle, and skimming is faster than studying. The estimate here assumes ordinary continuous reading of ordinary prose; treat it as the middle of the range, not a stopwatch.
Estimates assume average pace and ordinary prose; your audience will vary. Everything is processed locally in your browser and never transmitted. See the methodology page.