Estimate reading time for any text with adjustable reading speed
Reading time estimation helps you set accurate expectations for your audience before they start reading. Studies consistently place average silent reading speed for adults at 200–250 words per minute for comprehension-level reading (as opposed to skimming). Paste any text — a blog post, newsletter, article, speech, or documentation page — and the tool instantly calculates estimated reading time based on word count and an adjustable reading speed.
Beyond a single number, the tool breaks down word count, character count, sentence count, average word length, and paragraph count. These metrics help writers assess density (very long average sentence length signals difficult text), and help content teams apply platform-specific guidelines — Medium shows reading time on every article, email newsletters under 2 minutes get better completion rates, and conference talks target 130 words per minute for spoken delivery.
It's a reasonable population average for adult native readers reading for comprehension — not skimming and not studying. Actual reading speeds vary widely: fast readers manage 400+ wpm, technical content is often read at 100–150 wpm. Use the adjustable speed slider to calibrate to your specific audience.
Most reading-time estimates add roughly 12 seconds per image (as Medium does). This tool focuses on text; if your content is rich in images or interactive elements, add time manually.
For Chinese, Japanese and Korean, character count is a better proxy — native readers process approximately 500 Chinese characters per minute. If your text is in a CJK language, use the character count and divide by 500 for a rough estimate.
Typical conversational speech is 130–150 words per minute. Formal presentations and audiobooks aim for 150–160 wpm. Rapid speech (auctioneers, sports commentators) can reach 250–300 wpm but is tiring for audiences.
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