This reading time calculator tells you how long a text takes to read silently and to say out loud. Paste the text or type a word count. It uses 238 words a minute for reading and 183 for speaking, the adult averages from a 2019 review of 190 studies, and you can change either speed. It runs in your browser and needs no signup.
How to use the reading time calculator
- 1Paste your article or script into the box, or leave it empty and type a word count.
- 2Read the Reading time and Speaking time panels. They update as you type.
- 3Change Reading speed or Speaking speed to match your readers or your own pace. Read yourself for a minute and count the words if you are not sure.
- 4For a talk, lower the words until Speaking time fits the slot you have.
When to use it
- You want to show an honest read time at the top of a blog post.
- You have a five-minute speech and need to know how many words to write.
- A video or podcast script has to fit a set length.
- You are deciding whether a guide is too long to read in one sitting.
- You are recording a voice-over and need the script to match the length of the video.
Worked examples
A 1,500-word blog post
We typed a word count of 1,500 and kept the default speeds.
- Or a word count
- 1500
- Words
- 1,500
- Reading time
- 6 min 18 sec
- Speaking time
- 8 min 12 sec
Round it to a 6 minute read for the post. Read aloud as a podcast, the same text runs a little over 8 minutes.
The same post for slower readers
We kept 1,500 words and set the reading speed to 200, for readers skimming on a phone.
- Or a word count
- 1500
- Reading speed (wpm)
- 200
- Reading time
- 7 min 30 sec
Dropping the speed by 38 words a minute adds over a minute. If your label says 5 minutes, both numbers say it is short.
How many words fit in a talk
| Length | Words at 183 a minute |
|---|---|
| 1 minute | 183 |
| 3 minutes | 549 |
| 5 minutes | 915 |
| 10 minutes | 1,830 |
| 20 minutes | 3,660 |
183 words a minute is the average for adults reading aloud in Brysbaert's 2019 review in the Journal of Memory and Language. A talk with pauses, slides or questions runs slower, so leave room.
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