How do I find out how long my article takes to read?

Paste your text into Your text on the Estimate reading time tab. Reading time updates as you type, based on the selected Reading speed, and Speaking time uses 130 wpm. Word, character, sentence and paragraph counts appear too.

What reading speeds can I choose?

Presets are Slow (150 wpm), Average (238 wpm), Fast (350 wpm) and Skimming (700 wpm). You can also type a Custom wpm value, or use your own measured speed from the speed test.

How do I measure my own reading speed?

Open the Test your speed tab, press Start reading, read the passage at your natural pace, then press I'm done. It computes your wpm, and Use this speed for estimates applies it.

Why was my speed test result not used?

The test ignores runs that are too fast to be a natural read, such as skimming or pressing Done early, and shows a message asking you to retry. Use Read it again and go at your normal pace.

Is the speed test valid for languages other than English?

Not directly. The test passages are written in English, so your result reflects English reading speed and may differ in other languages. The word count itself splits text on whitespace, which suits space-separated languages best.

Yes. Every tool is free to use, with no account and no credit card. The work runs on your device rather than on our servers, which is what keeps it free to run.

Does it work on mobile?

Yes. It runs in current mobile browsers on iOS and Android, with nothing to install.

📖

Free Reading Time Calculator

Estimate how long it takes to read any text. Choose a reading speed, get word count, sentence count, and speaking time estimates.

Runs in your browserNo sign-up, no pop-upsNo login requiredFree forever

Works offline once loaded

Your text

For thirty-one years, Elias kept the light on the rocky point at the edge of the bay. Every evening, just before the sun slipped beneath the horizon, he climbed the spiral stairs, trimmed the wick, and set the great lamp turning. Sailors far out at sea never knew his name, but they knew his light. On clear nights it swept across the water like a slow, patient hand, and on stormy ones it was the only thing standing between a ship and the rocks. Elias rarely had visitors. He kept a garden of hardy plants that could survive the salt wind, and a fat grey cat who judged everyone harshly. He wrote in a logbook each night: the weather, the passing ships, the strange green glow that sometimes appeared on the waves. When the harbor authority finally replaced the lamp with an automatic beacon, they offered him a pension and a small house in town. He thanked them politely and asked if he might keep the logbooks. That winter, people in the village would see a single lit window on the point long after dark, where an old man sat reading the records of every night he had ever kept the light.

Reading speed

Reading time

51 sec

@ 238 wpm

Speaking time

1 min 33 sec

@ 130 wpm

Slow1 min 21 secAverage51 secFast35 secRead aloud1 min 33 sec

202

Words

1,093

Characters

Sentences

Paragraphs

Average speeds: Adults read at 200–250 wpm silently. Audiobooks are narrated at 120–150 wpm. Speed readers can reach 500–700 wpm with comprehension drop-off.

Medium articles: ~1,200 words (~5 min). Long-form: ~2,500 words (~10 min). Books average 70,000–90,000 words (~5–6 hours at 250 wpm).

Common uses

Reading Time for Blog PostsCalculate accurate reading time estimates for blog articles to add reading time badges and set reader expectations.
Reading Time for Emails and NewslettersEstimate reading time for email newsletters and business emails to optimise length and improve open-to-click rates.
Reading Time for Presentations and ScriptsCalculate speaking time for presentation scripts, speeches, and voiceovers based on words per minute.
Word Count for Social Media CopyCheck the word count, character count, and estimated reading time for social media captions and posts.
Estimate Reading Time for Books and ChaptersPaste a chapter or excerpt to estimate how long it takes to read at different reading speeds.

How It Works

Reading time is calculated entirely in your browser using a hand-written word-count algorithm and simple arithmetic — no library, no server call. A built-in speed test uses the browser's high-resolution performance.now() timer and requestAnimationFrame to measure how fast you personally read, then feeds that measured WPM back into the estimate.

1
Whitespace tokenization
Your pasted text is split on the regex /\s+/ to count words. Sentence boundaries are detected by matching .!? punctuation runs; paragraph breaks are found by splitting on blank lines. All of this is a few lines of plain JavaScript with zero external libraries.
2
Division by reading speed
Reading time is wordCount ÷ WPM, computed live on every keystroke via a React useMemo hook. Speaking time uses a fixed 130 WPM baseline (a standard rate for out-loud narration). The tool also pre-computes times for four common speeds simultaneously so you can see the full range at a glance.
3
Optional personal speed test
Switching to the Speed Test tab reveals a prose passage (one of five originals, ~180-220 words each). The passage is blurred until you press Start; at that point performance.now() captures a start timestamp and requestAnimationFrame drives a live mm:ss counter. When you press Done, elapsed milliseconds are divided by passage word count to get your actual WPM.
4
Sanity check and feedback loop
Runs shorter than 10 seconds or faster than 1500 WPM are flagged as suspect and excluded. A valid measured speed appears as a chip in the Estimate tab that you can activate with one click, replacing the generic preset with your real reading rate.

Related Tools

⌨️

Typing Speed Test (WPM)

Measure your typing speed (WPM) and accuracy with timed, word-count, quote, custom, and zen tests. Live WPM, raw speed, consistency, a results graph, multiple languages, and per-character feedback — all in your browser.

Try it

⚡

Speed Reader (RSVP)

Read faster with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation: your text flashes one word at a time at an adjustable 100–1200 WPM, with the optimal-recognition-point letter centered. Paste, set a speed, and press play. All in your browser.

Try it

🔢

Word Counter

Count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs. Estimate reading time.

Try it

Free Reading Time Calculator

Common uses

How It Works

Related Tools

Typing Speed Test (WPM)

Speed Reader (RSVP)

Word Counter

Frequently Asked Questions