What it's for
This calculator estimates how long an average reader would take to read a piece of text, based on word count and a configurable reading speed. It's useful for bloggers, content creators, copywriters and anyone who needs to display a "reading time" (like blog posts showing "5 min read").
How the calculation works
The tool counts the words in the text (split by whitespace) and divides by the reading speed you enter, in words per minute (wpm). The suggested default speed is 200 words per minute, a common average for silent reading, but you can adjust it as needed.
Average reading speed
Studies on silent reading speed generally point to a range between 200 and 238 words per minute for adults reading in their native language, with medium-difficulty content. Technical or dense text tends to be read more slowly; light, familiar content, faster.
Frequently asked questions
What reading speed should I use?
The default 200 words per minute is a good general estimate. For technical or academic content, consider a lower speed (150-180 wpm); for light content, you can go up to 250-260 wpm.
Does reading time account for images and videos in the text?
No, the calculation is based only on the word count of the pasted text. If the original content has images, charts or videos, consider adding extra time manually.
Why does it always round up?
The time is rounded up to the next whole minute (e.g. 4.2 minutes becomes "5 min") because that's how most sites and blogs display estimated reading time, avoiding unintuitive fractional numbers.
Does this tool work for text in any language?
Yes, the word count works for any language that separates words with spaces, including English, Portuguese and Spanish.