How to use the reading time calculator
- Paste or type into Paste or type your text. The sample is selected on your first click, so your paste replaces it. Clear empties the box.
- Set Reading speed with the number box, the slider or a preset: Slow 175, Average 238, Fiction 260 or Fast 300 words per minute.
- Set Speaking pace if you will say the text aloud: Slow 110, Presentation 125 or Audiobook 150.
- Read Reading time and Speaking time, the four counts and the two readability scores. They update as you type.
How the times and scores are calculated
- Time: words ÷ words per minute × 60, rounded to the nearest second. The default 238 is the average silent reading speed for adult English non-fiction in a meta-analysis of 190 studies, which also found 260 for fiction and a typical range of 175 to 300 (Brysbaert, 2019). The default speaking pace of 150 matches audiobook narration (150 to 160), and a comfortable presentation pace is 100 to 125 (Words per minute).
- Words: pieces of text separated by spaces or line breaks that contain a letter or digit. Sentences end at . ! or ?, and abbreviations such as Dr. do not. Paragraphs are non-empty lines.
- Flesch Reading Ease: 206.835 − 1.015 × (words ÷ sentences) − 84.6 × (syllables ÷ words). Higher is easier.
- Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 0.39 × (words ÷ sentences) + 11.8 × (syllables ÷ words) − 15.59, a US school grade. Both formulas are on Wikipedia.
Worked example
The sample has 238 words, 15 sentences and 321 syllables. Reading at 238 words per minute takes 238 ÷ 238 = 1 minute, shown as 1 min 0 sec. Speaking at 150 takes 238 ÷ 150 × 60 = 95 seconds, shown as 1 min 35 sec. That is 15.9 words per sentence and 1.35 syllables per word, so Reading Ease is 206.835 − 16.1 − 114.1 = 76.6 (fairly easy, 7th grade) and Grade Level is 6.2 + 15.9 − 15.59 = 6.5.
Limits and edge cases
Reading speed varies by person and topic, so treat the time as a planning estimate. Syllables come from spelling rules and numbers count as one syllable, so scores can differ by a point or two from other tools, and a very short text gives extreme scores. For keyword density use the Word Counter, to hear a script try Text to Speech Preview, and to check your typing speed take the Typing Speed Test.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to read 1,000 words?
At the default 238 words per minute, 1,000 words take 1,000 ÷ 238 × 60 = 252 seconds, which is 4 min 12 sec. At a fast 300 words per minute it takes 3 min 20 sec, and at a slow 175 it takes 5 min 43 sec.
How many words is a 10 minute speech?
At the default speaking pace of 150 words per minute, a 10 minute speech is about 1,500 words. At a comfortable presentation pace of 125 it is about 1,250 words, and at a slow 110 it is about 1,100 words.
What is a good Flesch Reading Ease score?
Higher scores are easier. A score of 60 to 70 is plain English that most 13 to 15 year olds can follow, 70 to 80 is fairly easy, and 30 to 50 is difficult, college level text. Pick the level that suits your readers rather than chasing one number.
How accurate is the syllable count?
It counts syllables with spelling rules, not a dictionary. In our tests it matched the standard count for about 19 in 20 common English words, and a miss is usually one syllable off, so scores can differ slightly from other tools.
Does it work for languages other than English?
Word counts and times work for any language, though for Chinese, Japanese and Thai, which use your browser's word splitting, the times are only rough. The Flesch scores are for English, so they are hidden when most letters are not Latin.
Sources: Brysbaert, M. (2019), "How many words do we read per minute?", Journal of Memory and Language 109, 104047, doi:10.1016/j.jml.2019.104047. Flesch-Kincaid readability tests (Wikipedia). Words per minute (Wikipedia).