Reading time is word count divided by reading speed, and the only judgement involved is the speed you choose. The passage loaded below is 22 words, which at the 238 words-per-minute mean for silent reading of English prose takes 6 seconds.
That 238 figure comes from meta-analysis of silent reading studies and is a better default than the 200 or 250 usually quoted. Reading aloud is far slower, around 183 words per minute, and technical material with formulas or code slows anyone down regardless of practice.
A published "5 min read" is doing something slightly different from measuring: it is setting an expectation. Rounding up is the safer error, because a reader who finishes early feels efficient while a reader who runs over feels misled.
The formula
t- Reading time in minutes
w- Word count
wpm- Reading speed in words per minute
How to use this calculator
- Paste the text you want to time.
- Set the reading speed, or leave it at the 238 wpm mean.
- The gauge shows the time in minutes.
- Use the slow and fast figures below to quote a range rather than a point.
Worked examples
The loaded passage
At 22 words it takes 6 seconds at 238 wpm, 9 seconds for a slow reader and 3 seconds for a fast one. The spread between the slowest and fastest is over two and a half times.
A 1,500 word article
That comes to 6.3 minutes at the mean, so it would be published as a 7 minute read. A slow reader needs 10.0 minutes and a fast one 3.8, which is why a single headline number is always an approximation.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
What reading speed should I use?
For general English prose read silently, 238 words per minute is the best supported average. Use 183 wpm for reading aloud and something nearer 100 for dense technical or legal text.
Why do the "min read" labels on blogs vary so much?
Different publishers assume different speeds, commonly 200, 225 or 265 wpm, and some add fixed time for images. A 1,000 word article can therefore be labelled anywhere from 4 to 5 minutes.
Should images and code count?
They should add time, not be ignored. A common convention adds around 12 seconds for the first image and a little less for each subsequent one; code blocks are usually read at a fraction of prose speed.
Does skimming count as reading?
Genuine reading tops out around 300 to 400 words per minute. Anything claimed much beyond that is skimming, which trades comprehension for speed rather than adding capacity.
Reading time by length and pace
| Words | Slow, 150 wpm | Average, 238 wpm | Fast, 400 wpm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0.7 min | 0.4 min | 0.2 min |
| 300 | 2.0 min | 1.3 min | 0.8 min |
| 600 | 4.0 min | 2.5 min | 1.5 min |
| 1,000 | 6.7 min | 4.2 min | 2.5 min |
| 1,500 | 10.0 min | 6.3 min | 3.8 min |
| 2,500 | 16.7 min | 10.5 min | 6.2 min |
| 5,000 | 33.3 min | 21.0 min | 12.5 min |
| 10,000 | 66.7 min | 42.0 min | 25.0 min |
Silent reading of continuous English prose, no images or code.