FREE CALCULATOR · PAGES OR WORDS · FINISH DATE
Reading time calculator: how long will this book take?
Free reading time calculator: enter pages or words and your reading speed to see how long a book takes, and the day you finish at 20 minutes a day.
Your reading time
How long to read 100 to 600 pages
| Pages | Reading time | At 20 min a day |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 1 h 56 min | 6 days |
| 150 | 2 h 53 min | 9 days |
| 200 | 3 h 51 min | 12 days |
| 250 | 4 h 49 min | 15 days |
| 300 | 5 h 47 min | 18 days |
| 350 | 6 h 44 min | 21 days |
| 400 | 7 h 42 min | 24 days |
| 500 | 9 h 38 min | 29 days |
| 600 | 11 h 33 min | 35 days |
At 238 words per minute and 275 words a page. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
The short answer
To work out reading time, multiply the pages by about 275 words a page and divide by your reading speed. At the adult average of 238 words per minute, a 300-page book takes about 5 hours 47 minutes, or 18 days at 20 minutes a day. This reading time calculator does it for any book.
How is reading time calculated?
- Count the words. Pages × words per page. A typical printed novel page holds 250 to 350 words; the calculator uses 275. With a word count (an e-book or a publisher listing), skip this step.
- Divide by your speed. Words ÷ words per minute = minutes. The average adult reads non-fiction silently at about 238 words per minute and fiction at about 260.
- Spread it over your days. Minutes ÷ minutes a day = days to finish. 82,500 words ÷ 238 wpm is about 347 minutes; at 20 minutes a day that is 18 days.
How long does it take to read 100, 300 or 500 pages?
Reading time for common page counts at three speeds, with 275 words a page. Most adults read non-fiction at 175 to 300 words per minute.
| Pages | Slower175 wpm | Average238 wpm | Faster300 wpm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 pages | 2 h 37 min | 1 h 56 min | 1 h 32 min |
| 150 pages | 3 h 56 min | 2 h 53 min | 2 h 18 min |
| 200 pages | 5 h 14 min | 3 h 51 min | 3 h 3 min |
| 250 pages | 6 h 33 min | 4 h 49 min | 3 h 49 min |
| 300 pages | 7 h 51 min | 5 h 47 min | 4 h 35 min |
| 350 pages | 9 h 10 min | 6 h 44 min | 5 h 21 min |
| 400 pages | 10 h 29 min | 7 h 42 min | 6 h 7 min |
| 500 pages | 13 h 6 min | 9 h 38 min | 7 h 38 min |
| 600 pages | 15 h 43 min | 11 h 33 min | 9 h 10 min |
How long does it take to read a novel?
Most novels run 70,000 to 100,000 words, so an average novel of about 90,000 words takes a little over 6 hours at 238 words per minute. These lengths are typical bands, not exact counts for any one book; if you know a book's word count, type it in with Words.
| Book | Typical words | About pages | Reading time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short story | 7,500 | 27 | 32 min |
| Novella | 30,000 | 109 | 2 h 6 min |
| Short novel | 60,000 | 218 | 4 h 12 min |
| Average novel | 90,000 | 327 | 6 h 18 min |
| Long novel | 140,000 | 509 | 9 h 48 min |
How many minutes a day to finish a book?
Take the total minutes and divide by the days you have. A 300-page book at an average speed is about 347 minutes: 20 minutes a day finishes it in 18 days, 30 minutes in 12 and an hour in 6. Reading at a set time, after something you already do each day, makes those minutes easier to keep; a reading log shows the pages adding up, and a reading challenge gives the year a target.
What makes a book slower or faster to read?
- Fiction or non-fiction. Adults read fiction a little faster on average, about 260 words per minute against 238.
- Reading aloud. About 183 words per minute, so a bedtime chapter takes about 30% longer than reading it silently.
- Dense pages. Small print, textbooks and technical books pack more words onto a page and slow most readers down. Change the words per page, lower your speed, or both.
- Your own speed. Averages hide a wide range. The reading speed test measures your words per minute with a comprehension check; the online stopwatch works too: read for ten minutes and count the pages.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to read a book?
An average novel of about 90,000 words takes about 6 hours 18 minutes at the adult average of 238 words per minute. Most novels run 70,000 to 100,000 words, so roughly 5 to 7 hours of reading, or two to three weeks at 20 minutes a day.
How long does it take to read 300 pages?
About 5 hours 47 minutes at 238 words per minute, assuming 275 words a page. A faster reader at 300 wpm needs about 4 hours 35 minutes, and a slower one at 175 wpm about 7 hours 51 minutes.
How long does it take to read 100 pages?
About 2 hours at an average speed: 1 hour 56 minutes at 238 words per minute and 275 words a page. Most adults take between 1.5 and 2.5 hours, depending on their speed and how dense the pages are.
How many pages can I read in an hour?
About 50 pages of a typical paperback at 238 words per minute. At 175 wpm it is closer to 38 pages, and at 300 wpm about 65. Dense non-fiction or small print means fewer pages.
How many words are on a page?
Most printed novels have 250 to 350 words a page. This calculator uses 275. To check your own book, count the words on three full lines, divide by three, and multiply by the number of lines on a page.
How long does it take to read a 400-page book?
About 7 hours 42 minutes at 238 words per minute and 275 words a page. Reading 30 minutes a day, that is about 16 days.
Does reading aloud take longer?
Yes. Reading aloud averages about 183 words per minute, against 238 for silent reading, so a 300-page book takes about 7 hours 31 minutes aloud. Choose Aloud under reading speed for a bedtime story or a read-aloud with kids.
What is my reading speed?
Most adults read non-fiction at 175 to 300 words per minute. To use your own number, take the free reading speed test, which times you on a short passage and checks that you understood it, then type your result into the calculator.
Sources and evidence
- Brysbaert (2019): How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate — Across 190 studies with 18,573 participants, adults read English silently at about 238 words per minute for non-fiction and 260 for fiction; most read non-fiction at 175 to 300 wpm; reading aloud averages 183 wpm. These are the speed presets.
- The Novelry: How many words in a novel? — Most typeset, printed novels have 250 to 350 words per page, occasionally 200 or 400. The calculator assumes 275 words a page unless you change it.
- Reedsy: How many words in a novel? — A standard novel usually has 70,000 to 100,000 words; about 40,000 is the usual minimum and around 140,000 the usual maximum, depending on genre. Used for the book length presets.
- Word count (Wikipedia), fiction length categories — The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America count a short story as up to 7,500 words and a novella as 17,500 to 39,999 words.