Reading time:
words ÷ words per minute

How long will it take to read?

Divide the number of words by your reading speed in words per minute. At 200 words per minute, a 2,000-word article takes 10 minutes. The site's calculator sets 200 wpm by default and lets you choose any speed from 50 to 500.

The answer depends far more on the reader than on the text. Skimming a news page, studying a textbook and reading a novel for pleasure all happen at different speeds, so use your own pace rather than an average.

The reading time formula

To turn decimal minutes into minutes and seconds, take the part after the point and multiply by 60. A result of 6.7 minutes is 6 minutes and 0.7 × 60 = 42 seconds.

Chart: reading time by word count and speed

Times are in minutes, from words ÷ wpm.

Planning study and publishing with reading time

Students use reading time to split a set text across the week. An 80,000-word novel at 200 wpm needs 400 minutes, which is 6 hours and 40 minutes, or about 57 minutes a day for a week.

Writers and editors use it to label articles with a minutes-to-read estimate. Choose one speed for the whole site so readers can compare posts fairly. Measure your own pace by timing a passage of known length, then divide its words by the minutes taken.

A second example: a long article for a reading list

A 3,000-word report read at 240 words per minute takes 12.5 minutes, which is 12 minutes and 30 seconds. If you only have a 10 minute break, you can see at a glance that it will not fit, and you can choose a shorter piece instead.

The formula also runs backwards. To finish a 1,200-word handout in 6 minutes you need 1,200 ÷ 6 = 200 words per minute. Comparing that with your normal pace tells you whether to start now or save it for later.

Common mistakes when estimating reading time

• Using characters or pages instead of words. The formula needs a word count, which any word processor shows.
• Assuming one speed fits every text. Dense study material is usually read more slowly than a light story.
• Forgetting that fast reading can hurt understanding. A higher wpm is only useful if you still remember what you read.
• Ignoring images, quotes and headings. Count only the words you will actually read.