On-page and SERP
Reading Time Calculator
Estimate how long a text takes to read, silently or aloud, in English or Arabic.
Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded. · Free, no account · 1 min
Importing a saved run into your account is coming soon. Until then, your last runs stay in this browser only, and you can download your files.
How to use
- Paste your text.
- Choose a reading rate, or select my own rate and type the words per minute you want to assume.
- Read the estimate in minutes and seconds with the word count and the rate used.
- Copy the figure for your article header or your editorial plan.
What it checks and how it works
Reading time is the word count divided by a reading rate in words per minute. The presets come from Brysbaert (2019), How many words do we read per minute?, Journal of Memory and Language 109, a meta-analysis of 190 studies. English adults read 238 words per minute silently for non-fiction and 260 for fiction, and 183 aloud. For Arabic the paper reports 181 words per minute silently (10 studies) and 142 aloud (5 studies). If you type your own rate, it is your own assumption and not a published figure.
Limits: the rates are averages of study samples and individual readers vary widely, so treat the result as an estimate. Technical or unfamiliar text is usually read more slowly. The estimate counts words and adds no time for images, tables, code or pauses.
Sources
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Questions
About this tool
The default preset, 238 words per minute, is the Brysbaert (2019) average for silent reading of English non-fiction. Choose another preset or enter your own rate at any time.
Brysbaert reports 181 words per minute for silent Arabic reading, from 10 studies, against 238 for English non-fiction. Orthography and the studies sampled both differ, so treat the gap as a rough guide.
No. It estimates continuous reading of every word, while visitors skim, skip and return, so it describes the text and not their behavior.
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