The average adult reads about 238 words per minute when reading non-fiction silently, and about 260 words per minute for fiction. Those figures come from a 2019 meta-analysis by Marc Brysbaert that combined 190 studies of silent reading.
You will often see “200 to 250 WPM” quoted. That range is consistent with the research, and 238 is the best single number to use when estimating reading time.
Reading speed by purpose
Speed is not fixed. The same person reads a contract, a novel and a news site at three different paces.
| Reading mode | Speed | 1,000 words takes |
|---|---|---|
| Reading aloud | 150 WPM | 6 min 40 sec |
| Careful study of dense text | 180 WPM | 5 min 33 sec |
| Average adult, non-fiction | 238 WPM | 4 min 12 sec |
| Fast, practiced reader | 300 WPM | 3 min 20 sec |
| Skimming | 450 WPM | 2 min 13 sec |
Skimming is not reading in the full sense. You pick up headings and key phrases and miss detail, so it suits scanning for something specific rather than learning something new.
What affects reading speed
- Difficulty of the text. Unfamiliar vocabulary, long sentences and technical content all slow you down.
- Your goal. Reading to remember is slower than reading for the gist.
- The screen. Reading on a screen is often a little slower than on paper, particularly for long text.
- Language. Speed drops when reading in a second language.
- Practice. People who read daily are generally faster and more comfortable with long text.
How to calculate reading time
Reading time is word count ÷ reading speed. A 1,500-word article at 238 WPM is 1,500 ÷ 238 = 6.3 minutes, or about 6 minutes 18 seconds. Publishers usually round that to a “6 min read”.
Some sites use slightly different speeds. Medium, for example, has used 265 WPM, which gives shorter estimates. The speed you choose matters less than using the same one consistently.
Reading speed versus speaking speed
Silent reading is about 60 percent faster than speaking. At 238 WPM versus 150 WPM, text takes roughly a third less time to read than to say aloud. If your text will be spoken, time it with the speech time calculator rather than the reading one.
To get a reading time for your own text, paste it into the reading time calculator. It counts the words, lets you change the speed, and adds time for images.