Reading Time Calculator
Enter a word count and reading speed to estimate how long a piece of text will take to read — useful for articles, essays, scripts, or speeches.
How the Reading Time formula works
A simple division:
Reading time (minutes) = Word count / Words per minute
Average adult silent reading speed is commonly cited around 200–250 words per minute; speaking pace for speeches is typically slower, around 130–150 words per minute.
Step-by-step calculation
- Count (or estimate) the total words in the text.
- Divide by the reading speed (words per minute) you want to estimate for.
- The result in minutes can be converted to minutes and seconds for a more precise estimate.
Worked example
A 1,500-word article at 225 words per minute: Reading time = 1,500 / 225 ≈ 6.7 minutes, or about 6 minutes 40 seconds.
Frequently asked questions
What reading speed should I use?
225 words per minute is a commonly used average for adult silent reading of general content. Technical or dense material is often read slower (150-200 wpm), while a spoken presentation or speech is usually paced around 130-150 words per minute.
How do I count words in my text?
Most word processors and text editors show a word count automatically; you can also estimate by counting words in a few representative lines and multiplying by the total number of lines.