How long will it take to read this?
Paste your text or enter a word or page count to estimate reading time. Adjust the reading speed for silent reading, reading aloud, or audiobooks.
Estimated reading time
4 min
1,000 words at 238 wpm
Word count
1,000
How reading time is estimated
Reading time is your word count divided by your reading speed in words per minute (WPM). The hard part is picking the right speed — and that varies a lot by reader, material, and whether you're reading silently or out loud.
Research by Marc Brysbaert (2019), reviewing 190 studies, puts the average adult silent reading speed at about 238 words per minute. Reading aloud is slower at roughly 183 WPM, and audiobooks are typically narrated around 150–160 WPM.
This calculator defaults to 238 WPM but lets you switch speeds, so you can estimate silent study reading, prep a speech, or gauge a podcast script just as easily.
How to use the reading time calculator
Give it words, pages, or text, then choose a reading speed.
Choose your input
Enter a word count, paste your text to count it automatically, or enter a page count.
Set the reading speed
Pick average, slow, fast, read-aloud, or audiobook speed depending on how the text will be read.
Read the estimate
Your estimated reading time and word count appear instantly.
Reading time formula
Divide the number of words by your reading speed in words per minute. For pages, first convert: words = pages × words-per-page (about 250 for double-spaced, 500 for single-spaced).
At the 238 WPM average, 1,000 words take about 4 minutes 12 seconds.
Slow down the WPM for technical or unfamiliar material and speed it up for light, familiar reading.
Examples
A 1,000-word article
At the average 238 WPM, 1,000 words take 1,000 ÷ 238 ≈ 4 minutes 12 seconds to read silently.
A ten-page paper
Ten double-spaced pages (≈2,500 words) take about 10.5 minutes silently, or roughly 14 minutes read aloud at 183 WPM.
Preparing a speech
A 5-minute speech at a comfortable speaking pace of ~130 WPM is about 650 words — handy when there's a word limit.
A dense textbook chapter
A 5,000-word technical chapter at a careful 150 WPM takes about 33 minutes — slower speeds reflect harder material.
Reading speed benchmarks
Typical words-per-minute rates for different reading modes.
| Mode | Words per minute |
|---|---|
| Slow / technical reading | ~150 WPM |
| Average silent reading | ~238 WPM |
| Fast reading | ~300 WPM |
| Speed reading | 400+ WPM |
| Reading aloud | ~183 WPM |
| Audiobook narration | 150–160 WPM |
| Conversational speaking | 130–150 WPM |
Average silent reading speed of 238 WPM is from Brysbaert (2019), a review of 190 studies.
FAQ
Reading Time Calculator — FAQ
Answers to the questions students ask most about this tool.
Related student tools
Read less, remember more
Cramberry condenses long readings into summaries, key terms, and flashcards so you spend reading time on what matters.
Summarize your reading free