Free reading tools.
Eight things worth using on their own, whether or not you ever open the app. No account, no sign-up, nothing to buy. They all share one number: an average reading speed of 250 words a minute, which is slower than the 300 most calculators assume and closer to what the research actually says.
Tools
Five calculators and timers, all running in your own browser.
Speed reading test
Measure your real pace, scaled by how much you took in.How long to read a book
Reading times for popular books, with the working shown.Reading timer
Time a session, then see your real pages an hour.Words to minutes
Paste anything and get the reading time, silent or aloud.Speed reading trainer
Words flash one at a time in a fixed spot, so your eyes stop travelling.
The research behind them
Where the number every tool above runs on actually comes from.
Guides
Two things readers ask how to do, written out step by step.
Common questions
Are these tools really free?
Yes. All eight, no account and no cap on how often you use them. None of them is a trial for something paid.
Do I need an account?
No. They run in your browser and none of them ask who you are. The reading timer keeps your running session locally so a refresh does not lose it, and that is the extent of it.
Where do the reading speed numbers come from?
Brysbaert's 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies puts silent adult reading at about 238 words a minute for non-fiction and 260 for fiction. Most calculators assume 300, so their estimates run about a fifth short. We use 250 and show the working.
Can I link to these or cite them?
Yes, and you do not need to ask. For the reading speed figures, link to the average reading speed page rather than the site in general. That is the page carrying the sources.
The tools are the free part
ReadersGuild is the app they came out of. It times your real sessions, so your pace comes from what you actually read rather than from an average. It opens soon.