Reading Time Calculator
Calculate reading time, speaking time, and word statistics for any text.
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What is this tool?
Reading time calculator estimates how long it takes to read a piece of text based on average reading speed. It shows five fixed word-per-minute speeds at once: 200 for slow reading, 238 for average, 300 for fast, 150 for speaking and 600 for scanning. Widely used by blogs, news sites, and documentation platforms.
How to use
- 1
Paste text
Input the text content to analyze.
- 2
Read the live estimates
All five speeds (200, 238, 300, 150, 600 WPM) update live as you type; there is no speed control.
- 3
View result
See estimated reading time and word count.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is average reading speed?
Average English reading speed is 200-250 words per minute for silent reading. Chinese is approximately 300-400 characters per minute. Speaking/presenting is slower at 130-150 WPM. Technical content reduces speed by 25-50%.
Does it account for images?
No, estimates text only.
Does it handle Unicode and special characters?
Yes, the tool fully supports Unicode characters including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and emoji.
How is reading time calculated?
Each estimate is the word count divided by one of the five fixed word-per-minute rates: 200, 238 and 300 for slow, average and fast reading, 150 for speaking and 600 for scanning. Results are shown as minutes and seconds: under a minute the tool shows whole seconds, and the seconds are rounded independently so they never carry into the minutes, which is why a card can display 5m 60s. There is no character-based or per-language rate.