Reading time at 200 words per minute
The arithmetic is simple. Count the words (any run of non-whitespace via \S+), divide by 200, round to the nearest integer, and floor at 1. The output is one line: Reading time: ~N min (W words at 200 wpm). Both numbers are visible so you can sanity-check the estimate against your own reading speed.
200 words per minute is the conservative default. Studies of adult reading speed put silent prose reading between 200 and 300 wpm, with technical or unfamiliar material on the slow end and fiction on the fast end. If you read at 250 wpm, multiply the reported minutes by 0.8 mentally; at 300 wpm, multiply by 0.67.
For richer breakdowns, jump to text statistics (chars, words, sentences, paragraphs in one report) or readability score (Flesch-Kincaid grade level), both of which use the same word-counting approach.
How to use estimate reading time
- 1Paste or type your text into the input panel on the left.
- 2The reading time appears in the output panel as you type.
- 3Read the output: it shows the minute estimate plus the word count.
- 4Click Copy in the output header to copy the result.
- 5For a fuller breakdown, run text statistics alongside.
Keyboard shortcuts
Drive TextResult without touching the mouse.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl F | Open the find & replace panel inside the input Plus |
| Ctrl Z | Undo the last input change |
| Ctrl Shift Z | Redo |
| Ctrl Shift Enter | Toggle fullscreen focus on the editor Plus |
| Esc | Close find & replace, or exit fullscreen |
| Ctrl K | Open the command palette to jump to any tool Plus |
| Ctrl S | Save current workflow draft Plus |
| Ctrl P | Run a saved workflow Plus |
What this tool actually does
Words = runs of non-whitespace
The word count uses s.trim().match(/\S+/g) with an empty-array fallback. Every run of non-whitespace is one word, including emoji, numbers, URLs, and tokens like state-of-the-art. This is more permissive than the \w+ tokenizer used by word counter.
200 wpm baseline
200 words per minute is the divisor. Average adult reading speed for prose is 200 to 300 wpm, so this is the conservative end. The figure is shown in the output line so you know which speed produced the estimate.
Rounded to the nearest minute, floored at 1
The minute count is Math.max(1, Math.round(words / 200)). A 50-word note still reports ~1 min rather than 0 min. A 250-word piece rounds to ~1 min (250/200 = 1.25). A 300-word piece rounds to ~2 min (300/200 = 1.5).
Output shows both the estimate and the word count
The single output line is Reading time: ~N min (W words at 200 wpm). The word count lets you scale the estimate to your own reading speed without rerunning the tool.
Runs entirely in your browser
No upload, no logging, no server round-trip. The estimate updates on every keystroke.
Worked example
Twenty-two words at 200 wpm rounds to 0 minutes; the floor of 1 keeps the output at ~1 min. Paste a 1,000-word article and the report becomes ~5 min (1000 words at 200 wpm).
Reading time tools estimate how long an article will take to read. Most adults read prose at 200 to 250 words per minute.
Reading time: ~1 min (22 words at 200 wpm)
Settings reference
| Behaviour | Value |
|---|---|
| Word definition | Runs of non-whitespace (\S+) after trimming. |
| Reading speed | 200 words per minute. |
| Rounding | Nearest integer minute, floored at 1. |
| Output format | Reading time: ~N min (W words at 200 wpm). |
| Empty input | Reading time: ~1 min (0 words at 200 wpm). |
FAQ
What reading speed is used?
How is a word counted?
\S+. This includes numbers, URLs, and hyphenated tokens. Whitespace runs (spaces, tabs, newlines) are the boundaries.Why does a tiny note still report ~1 min?
~1 min.