Reading Time Calculator
Paste an article, essay or script to see how many words it has and how long it takes to read silently, skim or say out loud, then copy a ready-made “min read” badge. Your text never leaves your browser.
Reading time
Speaking time
at 130–150 words per minute (a typical presentation pace)
Custom speed
Images add 12 s for the first, 1 s less for each next one, minimum 3 s (Medium's method).
“min read” badge
How to use the Reading Time Calculator
- Paste your text into the box. A sample article is loaded so you can see how it works.
- Read the results: counts at the top, then reading time at four speeds, with average (238 wpm) highlighted.
- Check speaking time if you will read it aloud, or enter your own words per minute and number of images.
- Choose a badge speed and format (plain text, HTML or Markdown).
- Press Copy badge and paste the “min read” label at the top of your blog post.
Reading time by word count
| Words | Slow (175 wpm) | Average (238 wpm) | Fast (320 wpm) | Speaking (130–150 wpm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 250 | 1 min 26 sec | 1 min 3 sec | 47 sec | 1 min 40 sec – 1 min 55 sec |
| 500 | 2 min 51 sec | 2 min 6 sec | 1 min 34 sec | 3 min 20 sec – 3 min 51 sec |
| 1,000 | 5 min 43 sec | 4 min 12 sec | 3 min 8 sec | 6 min 40 sec – 7 min 42 sec |
| 1,500 | 8 min 34 sec | 6 min 18 sec | 4 min 41 sec | 10 min – 11 min 32 sec |
| 2,000 | 11 min 26 sec | 8 min 24 sec | 6 min 15 sec | 13 min 20 sec – 15 min 23 sec |
| 5,000 | 28 min 34 sec | 21 min 1 sec | 15 min 38 sec | 33 min 20 sec – 38 min 28 sec |
The formula
Reading time (minutes) = words ÷ words per minute. Multiply the decimal part by 60 to get seconds. Example: 1,800 words at 238 wpm = 7.56 minutes = 7 minutes 34 seconds, shown as an “8 min read” badge because badges round up. To plan a talk the other way round, multiply the minutes you have by 130–150: a 10-minute slot fits about 1,300 to 1,500 words.
Tips for “min read” labels
- Use the average speed (238 wpm) for general audiences; use a slower speed for technical guides, code tutorials or texts for language learners.
- Count the body text only: leave out navigation, comments and author bios when you paste.
- Add time for images, charts and code samples, which readers stop to look at.
- Readers trust estimates that match their experience; rounding up is safer than promising a “2 min read” that takes four.
For page counts of essays use the Essay Length Calculator, for talks the Speech Length Calculator, and to check how easy your text is to read try the Readability Checker.
Frequently asked questions
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time = number of words ÷ reading speed in words per minute. A 1,190-word article at the average adult speed of 238 words per minute takes 1,190 ÷ 238 = 5 minutes. The badge rounds up to whole minutes, so 5 minutes 10 seconds is shown as 6 min read.
What is the average reading speed?
A 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies by Marc Brysbaert found that adults read English silently at about 238 words per minute for non-fiction and 260 for fiction. Speeds of 175 to 300 wpm are normal, and difficult or technical texts are read more slowly.
How many words per minute do people speak?
A comfortable speaking pace for presentations, speeches and podcasts is about 130 to 150 words per minute. Audiobooks are often narrated at 150 to 160 wpm, while fast conversation can exceed 160 wpm.
How does Medium calculate reading time?
Medium bases its estimate on an average reading speed of 265 words per minute and adds time for images: 12 seconds for the first image, 11 for the second, and one second less for each further image down to 3 seconds per image from the tenth image on. Choose Medium in the badge speed menu to use that method.
How long does it take to read 1,000 words?
About 4 minutes 12 seconds at 238 words per minute, about 5 minutes 43 seconds for a slow reader at 175 wpm and about 2 minutes for skimming at 500 wpm. Reading 1,000 words aloud at 130–150 wpm takes about 6 minutes 40 seconds to 7 minutes 42 seconds.
How are words and sentences counted?
A word is any run of letters or digits, and words joined by an apostrophe or hyphen (don't, well-known) count as one. Sentences end at a period, question mark, exclamation mark or ellipsis followed by a space, or at a blank line. Abbreviations like “U.S.” can add an extra sentence.