Reading Speed Test: Know How Fast You Read

Reading Speed Test

The victory of the small Greek democracy of Athens over the mighty Persian Empire in 490 B.C. is one of the most famous events in history. Darius, king of the Persian Empire, was furious because Athens had interceded for the other Greek city-states in revolt against Persian domination. In anger the king sent an enormous army to defeat Athens. He thought it would take drastic steps to pacify the rebellious part of the empire.
Persia was ruled by one man. In Athens, however, all citizens helped to rule. Ennobled by this participation, Athenians were prepared to die for their city-state. Perhaps this was the secret of the remarkable victory at Marathon, which freed them from Persian rule. On their way to Marathon, the Persians tried to fool some Greek city-states by claiming to have come in peace. The frightened citizens of Delos refused to believe this. Not wanting to abet the conquest of Greece, they fled from their city and did not return until the Persians had left. They were wise, for the Persians next conquered the city of Eritrea and captured its people.
Tiny Athens stood alone against Persia. The Athenian people went to their sanctuaries. There they prayed for deliverance. They asked their gods to expedite their victory. The Athenians refurbished their weapons and moved to the plain of Marathon, where their little band would meet the Persians. At the last moment, soldiers from Plataea reinforced the Athenian troops.
The Athenian army attacked, and Greek citizens fought bravely. The power of the mighty Persians was offset by the love that the Athenians had for their city. Athenians defeated the Persians in both archery and hand combat. Greek soldiers seized Persian ships and burned them, and the Persians fled in terror. Herodotus, a famous historian, reports that 6,400 Persians died, compared to only 192 Athenians.

Reading Speed

Word Count

Total Time Taken to Read

Wondering how quickly you can get through your next reading material? Our user-friendly reading speed calculator is here to help.

The standard way to measure your reading speed is in words per minute (WPM). It is calculated by dividing the word counts in the text by the time spent reading the text (in minutes). With this, you’ll get an estimate of your time reading.

Enjoy a more organized reading experience with our free reading speed test, and say goodbye to guessing.

How Our Reading Speed Test Work

Take a few deep breaths to improve your focus and concentration.
Paste text or choose a paragraph.
Click on the “Start” button. This will open the test text for you to read.
Take your time to read the entire text. Keep a steady pace to absorb the information as you go.
Once you have finished reading, click on the “Done Reading” button.
Answer a few questions about the text. Or you can skip the same if needed.
See your speed results in WPM and your comprehension percentage.

What Is a Reading Speed Test?

A Reading Speed Test measures how quickly a person can read a passage of text, usually calculated in words per minute (WPM).

Typically, a reading speed test consists of a passage of text followed by 5-10 comprehension questions about the text.

To take a reading speed test:

The text is shown with a timer. The standard length is 250–300 words.
The participants are instructed to read the passage at their pace.
They can start timing themselves and note how long it takes them to finish the passage.
When the participants have finished reading, the passage disappears, and participants are asked to answer comprehension questions from memory. They stop the timer at this point.
Their words per minute (wpm) reading speed is calculated by dividing the number of words in the text by the time it took them to read it.
Their comprehension score is calculated from the number of test questions they answer correctly. Most experts recommend aiming for at least 70% comprehension.
Repeat this process for 2-3 different passages to get a good reading speed and comprehension score.

The reading speed test provides quick feedback on a person’s speed and how well they retained information from the text. It can be used to compare and track how well someone can read over time.

How Many Words Do We Read Per Minute?

We’ve all heard claims about people reading lightning fast, but how true is it? A recent study analyzed tons of data (190 studies!) and found some surprising things about adult reading speed in English:

On average, people read silently between 238 and 260 words per minute (wpm). Fiction’s a bit faster, thanks to shorter words.
This is slower than many think. It turns out that those superfast reading claims might be exaggerated.
Speaking out loud slows us down: reading aloud averages 183 wpm, about 20% slower.
Kids, older adults, and non-native English speakers tend to read slower.
Our reading speed is about as fast as we can listen: no need for fancy brain tricks, just good old listening skills.
Everyone’s different: some people naturally zoom through text, while others take their time. We’re still figuring out why.

Average Reading Speed

Slow	Average	Fast
100 wpm	183 wpm	260 wpm

Common Words To Reading Time

Word Count	Estimated Reading Time (Minutes)
2500 words	10.5 minutes
3500 words	14.7 minutes
4000 words	16.8 minutes
5000 words	21.0 minutes
6000 words	25.2 minutes
7000 words	29.4 minutes
8000 words	33.6 minutes
9000 words	37.8 minutes
10000 words	42.0 minutes