Paste your text and this shows how long it takes at six different speeds — silent reading, reading aloud, speech pace and audiobook narration. Drag the slider to match your own audience. A five-minute speech is roughly 700 words, not 1,200, which is the mistake most people make.
238 wpm is the average adult silent reading speed. Drag to match your audience.
| Situation | Words per minute | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Silent reading, non-fiction | 238 | The figure most blogs use for "x min read" |
| Silent reading, fiction | 260 | Simpler sentences, faster |
| Reading aloud | 183 | Natural out-loud pace in English |
| A speech or a toast | 130–150 | Slower on purpose, with pauses |
| Audiobook narration | 150–160 | Comfortable to listen to for hours |
| Podcast conversation | 150–160 | Faster feels rushed on audio |
| Children, ages 6–8 | 60–90 | Still decoding words |
The single most common mistake is writing a speech at reading speed. A five-minute toast is roughly 650 to 750 words, not 1,200.
| Length | Silent reading (238) | Spoken aloud (140) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 minute | ~240 words | ~140 words |
| 2 minutes | ~480 words | ~280 words |
| 3 minutes | ~715 words | ~420 words |
| 5 minutes | ~1,190 words | ~700 words |
| 10 minutes | ~2,380 words | ~1,400 words |
| 20 minutes | ~4,760 words | ~2,800 words |
Reading speed is not a constant. It drops with unfamiliar vocabulary, long sentences and dense subject matter, and rises with simple narrative prose. Numbers, names and technical terms slow people down more than word count suggests.
Treat any figure here as a range rather than a promise. For a speech, the only reliable method is to read it out loud with a timer — most people find they run 10 to 20 percent longer than the calculator says, because of pauses they did not plan for.
How long does it take to read 1,000 words? About 4 minutes 12 seconds at the average silent reading speed of 238 words per minute. Read aloud it is closer to 5 minutes 30 seconds.
How many words is a 5-minute speech? Roughly 700 words at a natural speaking pace of 140 words per minute. Writing 1,200 words and hoping to fit is the usual mistake.
What is the average reading speed? 238 words per minute for adults reading non-fiction silently, and around 260 for fiction. Reading aloud drops to about 183.
Why does my speech run longer than the estimate? Pauses. Most people run 10 to 20 percent over because of breaths, laughs and reactions that no calculator can predict.
Does this tool store my text? No. Everything is calculated in your browser. Nothing is uploaded and no account is needed.