Home › Grade Calculators › Reading Time Calculator
Reading Time Calculator
Enter the number of pages (or words), the words per page and your reading speed. The calculator estimates how long the reading will take and how many days it needs at the minutes per day you can spare. That is useful for planning a novel for English class, a stack of journal articles or a long reading list before an exam.
The default speed is 238 words per minute, the average silent reading rate for adults reading non-fiction in English found by Brysbaert’s 2019 review of 190 studies (fiction was about 260 wpm). Students reading closely to study or take notes are often nearer 150–200 wpm, so pick the speed that matches how you will read. A typical paperback page holds about 250–300 words, a dense textbook page more.
Default example: 320 pages × 300 words = 96,000 words. At 238 wpm that is 403 minutes, or 6 h 43 min. At 30 minutes a day you need 14 days, about 23 pages a day. To measure your own speed, time yourself reading for 5 minutes, count the words and divide by 5.
Result and step-by-step working
96000 words at 238 wpm · about 14 days at 30 min/day
| Speed | Time |
|---|---|
| 150 wpm | 10 h 40 min |
| 200 wpm | 8 h 0 min |
| 238 wpm | 6 h 43 min |
| 300 wpm | 5 h 20 min |
| 400 wpm | 4 h 0 min |
- Words320 pages × 300 words = 96000 words.
- Minutes96000 ÷ 238 wpm = 403.4 minutes = 6 h 43 min.
- Days403.4 ÷ 30 min per day = 13.45, rounded up to 14 days (22.9 pages a day).
Frequently asked questions
- What is the average reading speed?
- About 238 words per minute for silent non-fiction reading and about 260 wpm for fiction, according to a 2019 review of 190 studies by Marc Brysbaert. Reading to study is slower.
- How many words are on a page?
- Around 250–300 for a typical paperback, about 500 for a single-spaced page of 12-point text, and about 250–300 for a double-spaced page.
- How long does it take to read 100 pages?
- At 300 words per page and 238 wpm, about 2 hours 6 minutes.
- Can I read faster without losing comprehension?
- Research generally finds that speed-reading claims well above normal rates come with lower comprehension. Previewing headings and skimming for structure is a better way to save time.
Last reviewed: October 9, 2026. Calculations run in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.