Study Calculators
Reading speed (WPM).
Time yourself on a passage, enter the word count and the time, and get your words per minute. Add a book length to see how many hours it will take at that pace. Runs in your browser; nothing is sent or stored.
Your timed read
Your speed
Fill the form and press Calculate.
Quick answer
Reading speed in words per minute is the number of words you read divided by the minutes it took. Reading 500 words in 2 minutes 30 seconds is 200 WPM. Divide a book's word count by your WPM to get its reading time.
Worked example
You read 500 words in 2 minutes 30 seconds, which is 2.5 minutes. 500 / 2.5 = 200 WPM. An 80,000-word novel at 200 WPM takes 80,000 / 200 = 400 minutes, or 6 hours 40 minutes. The same pace gives 50 minutes for 10,000 words, 4 hours 10 minutes for 50,000 and 8 hours 20 minutes for 100,000.
How it works
WPM = words / minutes, with seconds converted to a fraction of a minute. Reading time = book words / WPM. Time is rounded to the nearest minute.
What to compare it with. Wikipedia's Words per minute article reports a 2012 study that measured reading aloud across 17 languages with a typical range of 184 ± 29 WPM, and 228 ± 30 WPM for English. It also reports proofreading at 200 WPM on paper and 180 WPM on a monitor in older studies. Those figures describe particular tasks and tests, not a target you should hit, and they are not a standard for silent reading of a novel.
Time yourself on a passage you have not read before, at your normal pace, and repeat once or twice with different text. One short sample is noisy.
Sources (each page opened 2026-10-08):
- Words per minute, Wikipedia (sections on reading and comprehension): the 184 ± 29 and 228 ± 30 WPM reading-aloud figures and the 200 and 180 WPM proofreading figures
FAQ
How do you calculate words per minute for reading?
Divide the number of words you read by the time in minutes. 500 words in 2 minutes 30 seconds is 500 / 2.5 = 200 words per minute.
How long will it take to read an 80,000-word book?
At 200 WPM it takes 400 minutes, which is 6 hours 40 minutes. Enter your timed sample and the book length above and the tool does the division for your own speed.
Is there an official normal reading speed?
No single figure applies to everyone. Published numbers depend on the text, the language and whether people read aloud or silently, so treat them as reference points for a specific study.
Does a higher WPM mean I understood more?
No. This calculator measures pace only. Comprehension is not measured and can drop when you read faster than is comfortable for the material.
How many words are on a page?
It varies by font, page size and layout, so use the word count if you know it. For a rough page count from words, see the Words to Pages Calculator.