Writing & Publishing Tools
Reading Time Calculator
Estimate article reading time from text or a word count. Adjust reading and speaking speeds; your text stays on your device.
Plain text only; HTML tags and stage directions are not removed. Limit: 100,000 characters. Nothing is uploaded or saved by this tool.
Enter a whole number from 0 to 1,000,000. Your pasted text is kept when switching input modes.
Adjust each pace independently. Use whole numbers from 1 to 1,000 words per minute.
Added only to speaking / episode duration. Maximum: 86,400 seconds (24 hours).
Enter text or a word count to see your estimates.
Estimate the reading time of an article
Paste the article text or enter its word count. The reading estimate starts at an editable 240 words per minute; this is a starting assumption, not a measurement of your audience. Speaking time is calculated separately at 130 words per minute.
Worked example
Example: 1,200 words at 240 words per minute takes 5 minutes to read. At 130 words per minute, the same text takes about 9 minutes 14 seconds to speak, before additional pauses.
How is the estimate calculated?
Reading seconds = words ÷ reading words per minute × 60. Speaking seconds = words ÷ speaking words per minute × 60 + additional seconds. Changing one speed never changes the other estimate.
Can I use the label on my website?
Copy the rounded reading-time label or its HTML into an article or template. This is a static label: recalculate it after editing the article.
How are words counted?
Where supported, your browser segments words using the page language. A Unicode-aware fallback counts letter and number groups, keeping apostrophes inside words. Punctuation and emoji alone are not words. Counts can differ between browsers, languages, and editorial conventions; enter your own word count when an exact agreed count is needed.
How accurate is the duration?
These are planning estimates, not measured timings. Language, text difficulty, delivery style, and audience affect pace. Set a speed appropriate to your content and check a sample by reading or recording it. Your text is not sent to a processing service or stored by this tool.
