What this calculator does
Words per minute, or WPM, is a rate: how many words pass in a given stretch of time. This calculator works out that rate from two things you can measure directly, a word count and how long it took to get through it, rather than assuming a fixed reading speed for everyone.
The average adult silent reading speed sits somewhere around 150 to 250 words per minute, though it varies with the material and the reader. Timing yourself against a passage of known length, using this calculator, gives a figure specific to you rather than a generic estimate.
The formula
Words per minute is the word count divided by the time taken, expressed in minutes. Seconds are converted to a fraction of a minute first, so a timed sample of 4 minutes 30 seconds becomes 4.5 minutes before the division.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Words per minute (WPM) | Word count divided by time taken, in minutes. |
| Word count | The number of words in the passage that was read or timed. |
| Typical adult range | Roughly 150 to 250 words per minute for silent reading of ordinary prose, used here only as a rough comparison point. |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Word count | The number of words in the passage read. |
| Time taken: minutes | Minutes of the time it took to read the passage. |
| Time taken: seconds | Seconds, added to the minutes above. |
When to use it
Measuring your own reading speed
Time yourself reading a passage of known word count, then enter both figures here. This gives an actual measured rate rather than an assumed average.
Estimating how long a document will take a reader
Once you know roughly how many words per minute a reader manages, the same rate can be used to estimate reading time for other pieces of a similar style and difficulty.
Comparing reading speed across different material
Technical or unfamiliar text is read more slowly than casual prose. Timing a passage from the actual material of interest gives a more honest figure than a generic average.
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
How reading speed changes with time taken, for a fixed 900-word passage
The same word count read in different amounts of time.
| Time taken (minutes) | Reading speed |
|---|---|
| 3 min | 300 words per minute |
| 3.6 min | 250 words per minute |
| 4.5 min | 200 words per minute |
| 6 min | 150 words per minute |
| 7.5 min | 120 words per minute |
| 9 min | 100 words per minute |
Questions
What is a good words per minute reading speed?
Most adults silently read ordinary prose at roughly 150 to 250 words per minute. Skimming is faster and careful, technical reading is slower; neither is wrong, they are different tasks.
How is this different from a typing speed calculator?
This measures how fast you read, from a word count and time taken. A typing speed calculator measures how fast you type, usually from characters entered in a timed test, and also reports accuracy.
How is this different from a words-to-minutes speech calculator?
This works out a rate, words per minute, from a word count and a measured time. A words-to-minutes calculator goes the other way: it takes a word count and an assumed speaking rate and estimates how long that would take to say aloud.
Does this account for skimming versus careful reading?
No, it simply divides the word count by the time entered. The result reflects whatever reading style was actually used during that timed sample, whatever it was.
To turn a word count into an estimated speaking time instead, see the words to minutes speech calculator. For a typed, rather than read, words-per-minute figure, use the typing speed calculator.