At 230 words per minute this is a quick read. Pick a slower or faster reading speed to match your audience.
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Reading time is a simple promise to your reader: it tells them how long an article will take before they start. This read time calculator counts your words, divides by a reading speed, and shows the result as a clean "X min read" estimate, plus the spoken length if you are writing a script or voiceover. Paste a draft above and the numbers update as you type.
The math behind any read time calculator is one division: word count divided by reading speed in words per minute. If a post runs 1,150 words and your audience reads at 230 words per minute, that is 1,150 divided by 230, or about a 5 minute read. The only variable that really moves the answer is the words per minute figure you assume. The average adult reads silently at roughly 200 to 250 words per minute, so 230 is a sensible default. Careful or non-native readers sit closer to 150, while practiced readers on familiar material can clear 300. Speaking aloud is slower, near 130 words per minute, which is why the speaking time above is always longer than the reading time for the same text.
An "X min read" badge does quiet but real work. It sets expectations, so a reader can decide whether they have time to start now or save the piece for later, and that small bit of honesty tends to lift both click-through and dwell time. When someone knows a guide is a 6 minute read, they settle in rather than bouncing in the first ten seconds. Reading time is also a planning tool. Tracking the words per minute and the resulting minutes across your library helps you keep a consistent rhythm, balance short answers against deep guides, and spot thin pages that need more substance. None of this replaces quality, but a reliable reading time estimate makes your content easier to scan, schedule and trust.
The honest answer is: as long as it takes to fully satisfy the search intent, and not a word longer. A "how to reset a router" query is served by a tight 2 minute read, while "complete guide to local SEO" earns a much longer one. Padding a thin article to hit a bigger reading time backfires, because readers feel the filler and leave. The better move is to study what already ranks, match the depth and format searchers expect, then earn the extra length with genuinely useful detail. If you want that mapped against your actual keywords and competitors rather than guessed, Rankite can build a content plan that sizes each page to its intent. Book a call below and we will show you where the gaps are.
Count the sentences, words and paragraphs in any text and check your average sentence length.
Count characters with and without spaces, perfect for meta titles, descriptions and social posts.
Score your text for readability and see the grade level your content reads at.
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