Reading Time Calculator — Read and Speech Time
A calculator that estimates reading and speaking time from word and syllable counts
Runs in your browser · nothing is uploaded
How will it be read?
Kind of English text
50–2,000. The default is an average estimate; change it to match your pace.
20–1,000. The default is a research average; change it to match your pace.
If your talk has a time slot, enter it to see how much script fits.
Estimated reading time about 15 s (range 12 s to 21 s)
Estimated time
About 15 s
People vary a lot: 25% faster takes about 12 s, 25% slower about 21 s.
What was counted
- Hangul syllables
- 0
- English words (incl. numbers)
- 61
Default rates (averages you can change): English silent reading 238 wpm for non-fiction and 260 for fiction — Brysbaert (2019) meta-analysis, Journal of Memory and Language 109. Korean silent reading 600 syllables/min — between a direct adult measurement of 549.7 (Song et al. 2016, Journal of the Korean Ophthalmological Society 57(4)) and Brysbaert’s 226 Korean words (eojeol) per minute converted to about 640–660 syllables. English speaking 140 wpm — lectures 125–160 (Tauroza & Allison 1990), audiobooks 140–180 (Brysbaert 2019). Korean speaking 300 syllables/min — between free speech at 253–265 and reading aloud at 308–348 (Ahn et al. 2002; Shin & Hyun 2003). Korean is counted in syllables and English in words, and the two times are added.
What it is
The reading time calculator tells you how long a piece of text takes to read silently and how long it takes to say out loud. Use it to add a “4 min read” label to a blog post, to trim a script for a three-minute speech, or to check whether a video narration fits its slot. English is counted in words; Korean text in the same passage is counted in syllables and timed separately, and the two times are added.
How to use
- Paste your text or script. An example script is filled in to start with.
- Choose “Read silently” or “Read aloud or present”. For silent reading you can also pick non-fiction or fiction.
- Read the estimate and the range for readers 25% faster or slower.
- If you know your own pace, change the rates. “Reset to default” brings back the research values.
- Enter a target time for a talk to see how many words fit into it.
How it works
| Situation | Default rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| English, silent | 238 wpm non-fiction, 260 fiction | Brysbaert (2019), Journal of Memory and Language 109 |
| English, aloud | 140 wpm | Lectures 125–160 (Tauroza & Allison 1990), audiobooks 140–180 (Brysbaert 2019) |
| Korean, silent | 600 syllables/min | Between a measured 549.7 (Song et al. 2016) and Brysbaert’s 226 Korean words per minute converted to about 640–660 syllables |
| Korean, aloud | 300 syllables/min | Between free speech at 253–265 and reading aloud at 308–348 (Ahn et al. 2002; Shin & Hyun 2003) |
- Words are runs of letters or digits separated by spaces; hyphenated words and contractions such as well-known or isn’t count as one word.
- Numbers count as one word each, although they can take longer to say.
- Every default is an average, so results are shown as approximate.
Examples
| Text | Mode | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| 714 English words | Silent, non-fiction | About 3 min |
| 780 English words | Silent, fiction | About 3 min |
| 700 English words | Aloud | About 5 min |
| 1,200 Korean syllables | Silent | About 2 min |
FAQ
Where does 238 words per minute come from?
It is the average silent reading rate for English non-fiction in Marc Brysbaert's 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies and about 18,500 readers, published in the Journal of Memory and Language. Fiction averaged 260 wpm, and most adults fell between about 175 and 300 wpm for non-fiction.
Why is speaking time so much longer?
People speak far more slowly than they read. University lectures run at roughly 125–160 wpm (Tauroza & Allison 1990) and audiobooks at about 140–180 wpm, so this tool uses 140 wpm for talks. Pauses, slide changes and questions make real talks longer still.
Why is there a range?
Reading speed varies a lot between people. The tool shows the time for someone 25% faster and 25% slower than the rate you set; for 238 wpm that is about 178–298 wpm, close to the range Brysbaert reports for most adults.
Why does my blog platform show a different read time?
Platforms use their own conventions. Medium, for example, describes using about 265 wpm for English and 500 characters per minute for Chinese, Japanese and Korean. These are industry conventions rather than research averages; enter the same rate here if you want matching numbers.
How is Korean text counted?
Korean is counted in syllables and timed at its own rate (600 syllables per minute silently, 300 aloud), then added to the time for any English words. Japanese kana and other scripts are listed but not timed.
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