Reading Time Calculator
Estimate time for an article, chapter, or book from its word count and your reading pace.
Estimated reading time
3 hours 31 minutes
Rounded up to the next whole minute. Breaks, note-taking, and changes in difficulty are not included.
Not sure about your pace? Take the free reading speed test. Without a supplied test result, the starting value is 238 WPM: a research average for adult English nonfiction, not an assessment of your own speed.
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time in minutes equals word count divided by WPM. A 1,000-word article at 250 WPM takes about four minutes; a 50,000-word book at that pace takes about three hours and twenty minutes, before breaks.
Use a known word count when available. Page counts alone are unreliable because layouts, type sizes, and illustrations vary. Estimates are most useful when your measured pace comes from similar material.
What could change the estimate?
Study, unfamiliar vocabulary, and notes may require more time than an uninterrupted reading session. A short test cannot predict the pace you will maintain through an entire book.
Understand reading-speed benchmarks or plan a reading practice session.