Blogs and articles
Add an "X min read" label so readers know what to expect before they start.
Reading Time Calculator — How Long Does Your Text Take to Read?
Paste your text to see how long it takes to read, skim or speak aloud. Choose a reading speed, add time for images and copy an "X min read" label. Everything runs in your browser.
Start calculating
Runs locally in your browser
No API key
Free, no sign-up required
Your text
Reading speed (words per minute)
Images in the text
Estimated time
0 secat 238 words per minute
Time at different speeds
How many words fit in a time?
minutes
The guide
Reading Time Calculator: Estimate How Long Text Takes to Read
Work out reading, skimming and speaking time for articles, essays, scripts and speeches.
What Is a Reading Time Calculator?
A reading time calculator estimates how long a reader needs to get through a piece of text. It counts the words and divides by an average reading speed, measured in words per minute.
The result is an estimate. Real reading time changes with the topic, the layout and how familiar the reader is with the subject.
Popular Uses
Speeches and presentations
Check how long a script takes to deliver and how many words fit in a time slot.
Study and planning
Plan reading time for a chapter, a report or a set of notes before an exam or a meeting.
Typical Reading and Speaking Speeds
These are rough ranges. Pick the one closest to your audience, or enter your own speed.
| Activity | Words per minute | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Careful reading or studying | About 150 | Dense or unfamiliar material, or reading in a second language. |
| Average adult, silent reading | About 238 | A common default for non-fiction articles. |
| Fast reader | 300 or more | Familiar topics and plain writing. |
| Skimming | About 600 | Scanning for the main points, with less detail kept. |
| Speaking or presenting | 130 to 160 | Includes natural pauses. This tool uses 140. |
How to Calculate Reading Time
- Paste or type your text. The word count and time update as you go.
- Choose Slow, Average or Fast, or enter your own words per minute.
- Enter the number of images if the text has any, to add time for them.
- Read the estimate, compare reading, skimming and speaking, and copy the "X min read" label.
Tips & Limitations
- Use a slower speed for technical, legal or academic writing, and a faster one for light news or stories.
- Tables, code and lists take longer to read than the word count suggests, so round up for them.
- For a talk, add time for slides, pauses and questions on top of the speaking time.
- Text in Chinese, Japanese or Thai is not split into words by spaces, so the times will not be reliable.
Privacy
Privacy
All calculations happen locally in your browser. Your text is not uploaded, sent to a server or stored, and it is gone when you close or refresh the page.
Limitations
The tool gives estimates based on average speeds. Real reading time depends on the reader, the topic and the layout.
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