How long will it take to read this?
Paste the text or type a word count. You get the reading time at three paces, and how long it runs if you say it out loud.
0 words, 0 characters
Knowing it takes 4 minutes is not the same as reading for 4 minutes.
ReadersGuild times the reading itself, alongside other people doing theirs. It opens soon.
Reading times use 250 words a minute, slower than the 300 most tools assume, because Brysbaert's 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies put adult silent reading nearer 238 wpm for non-fiction and 260 for fiction. To measure your own rather than use an average, the speed reading test scores comprehension too, and the reading timer times a real session.
Words to minutes, at a glance
Reading times at an average adult pace of 250 words a minute, and spoken times at a prepared-talk pace of 140.
| Words | Reading time | Read aloud |
|---|---|---|
| 250 | 1 minute | 2 minutes |
| 500 | 2 minutes | 4 minutes |
| 750 | 3 minutes | 5 minutes |
| 1,000 | 4 minutes | 7 minutes |
| 1,500 | 6 minutes | 11 minutes |
| 2,000 | 8 minutes | 14 minutes |
| 5,000 | 20 minutes | 36 minutes |
| 10,000 | 40 minutes | 1 hour 11 minutes |
How many words is a speech of this length?
| Speech length | Words needed |
|---|---|
| 1 minute | about 140 words |
| 2 minutes | about 280 words |
| 3 minutes | about 420 words |
| 5 minutes | about 700 words |
| 10 minutes | about 1,400 words |
| 15 minutes | about 2,100 words |
| 20 minutes | about 2,800 words |
What is a words to minutes converter?
A words to minutes converter turns a word count into a reading time. Paste text or enter a number and it divides by a reading speed, so 1,000 words comes out at about 4 minutes silently or 7 minutes read aloud. It answers how long something takes before you commit to it.
How many minutes is 1,000 words?
About 4 minutes to read silently at an average adult pace of 250 words a minute, and about 7 minutes to read aloud at a speaking pace of 140. A slower reader takes nearer 7 minutes silently and a fast reader about 3.
The same maths scales cleanly: 500 words is 2 minutes, 2,000 is 8 minutes, and 5,000 is 20 minutes. Reading aloud always takes roughly twice as long as reading silently, because speech is limited by how fast you can articulate rather than how fast you can take words in.
Why 250 words a minute and not 300
Most converters default to 300 words a minute. Brysbaert's 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies put adult silent reading closer to 238 words a minute for non-fiction and 260 for fiction, so 300 runs fast and the estimates it produces run short.
We use 250, which sits between those two figures. It makes every number on this page slightly larger than the one you will see elsewhere, and slightly closer to the truth. If you want your own figure rather than an average, time a real session or take a comprehension-scored speed test.
Writing a speech instead of reading one
Working backwards from a time limit is the more common problem for a talk. At 140 words a minute, a 3 minute speech is about 420 words, a 5 minute speech about 700, and a 10 minute speech about 1,400.
Treat those as a ceiling rather than a target. Pauses, laughter, a slide that needs a moment, and the fact that almost everyone speeds up when nervous all move the real number, and a script that fills the slot exactly on paper tends to overrun in the room.
How to use the words to minutes converter
- 1
Paste your text or enter a word count
Paste an essay, chapter, thread or script and it counts the words for you. If you already know the number, switch to the word count tab and type it in.
- 2
Read the time at your pace
The headline figure is the average adult reading pace. Underneath, the same text is shown at a slower and a faster pace so you can pick the one that matches how you actually read.
- 3
Check the spoken time if you are presenting
The read-aloud row uses a prepared-talk pace of 140 words a minute, which is what you want when the text is a speech, a script or a voiceover rather than something to be read silently.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does it take to read 1,000 words?
- About 4 minutes at an average adult reading pace of 250 words a minute. A slower reader takes around 7 minutes and a faster reader around 3. Read aloud, 1,000 words runs about 7 minutes.
- How long does it take to read 500 words?
- About 2 minutes silently at 250 words a minute, and about 4 minutes read aloud. That is roughly a one-page double-spaced essay or a short blog post.
- How long does it take to read 5,000 words?
- About 20 minutes at an average pace of 250 words a minute. A slower reader takes closer to 33 minutes and a faster reader about 13. That is roughly a long magazine feature or a short story.
- How many words is a 5 minute speech?
- About 700 words at a prepared speaking pace of 140 words a minute. Most guidance puts a five minute speech between 600 and 750 words. Aim at the lower end if you plan to pause, take questions, or work from slides.
- How many words is a 3 minute speech?
- About 420 words at 140 words a minute. Nerves tend to speed people up rather than slow them down, so a script slightly under the limit usually lands closer to the time than one written exactly to it.
- Is reading aloud slower than reading silently?
- Yes, roughly half the speed. Silent reading averages around 250 words a minute for adults, while a prepared talk runs nearer 140, because speaking is limited by articulation rather than by comprehension. That is why an audiobook of a novel runs far longer than the time it takes to read the same book.
Sources: Brysbaert, M. (2019). How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate. Journal of Memory and Language, 109. Rayner, K., Schotter, E. R., Masson, M. E. J., Potter, M. C., and Treiman, R. (2016). So Much to Read, So Little Time. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 17(1). Last reviewed July 2026.