Reading Time Calculator: How Long Does It Take to Read a Book?
The average adult reads non-fiction at about 238 words per minute, so one page of a typical paperback takes about a minute and 100 pages takes about 1 hour 45 minutes. A 300-page book takes about 5 hours 15 minutes.
Reading Time Calculator
100 pages, non-fiction at 238 wpm
1 h 45 min
100 pages takes about 1 hour 45 minutes to read at an average speed of 238 words per minute.
Based on 25,000 words: 100 pages × 250 words per page.
- Slower reader
- 2 h 5 min200 wpm
- Faster reader
- 1 h 23 min300 wpm
- Read out loud
- 2 h 17 min183 wpm
- Words
- 25,000250 a page
Read 20 minutes a day and you'll finish in 6 days.
Keep that up for a year and you'd read about 69 books this long.
Make it a habit: add reading to your evening routine in Greatr and keep your streak going until the last page.
Pure reading time at a steady pace: breaks, rereading and notes are not included. Reading a speech out loud? Use the Words to Minutes Calculator.
Runs in your browser. No account, nothing stored, no ads. The guide below shows how it calculates and the sources it rests on.
Pick a book, a chapter or an article, enter its pages or words (or paste the text), and the calculator above gives you the reading time at your speed, plus the minutes a day it takes to finish. Below: the charts, the method and why other sites give you different answers.
How long does it take to read 100 pages?
Reading 100 pages takes about 1 hour 45 minutes at an average speed of 238 words per minute, assuming 250 words per page. That speed is the average for adults reading non-fiction silently in Marc Brysbaert's 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies. Fiction moves a little faster, so 100 pages of a novel takes about 1 hour 36 minutes.
| Reader | Words per minute | Time for 100 pages |
|---|---|---|
| Slower reader | 200 | 2 h 5 min |
| Average, non-fiction | 238 | 1 h 45 min |
| Average, fiction | 260 | 1 h 36 min |
| Faster reader | 300 | 1 h 23 min |
Page size changes the answer. A large paperback or hardcover often fits about 300 words on a page, and then 100 pages takes about 2 h 6 min at 238 words per minute. The tool's Book format menu also has 350 words for dense non-fiction or a textbook and 150 for large print, all rules of thumb rather than measured standards.
Studying is slower again. When you take notes and go back over parts, the calculator's Study setting assumes 150 words per minute, our own estimate rather than a research figure. That makes 100 pages about 2 h 47 min, so plan an evening, not a lunch break.
Reading time chart: 1 to 500 pages
One page of a typical paperback (about 250 words) takes about 1 minute to read, 1 min 3 s at the average of 238 words per minute. Find your page count in the left column and read across. Every row has its own anchor, so a link can jump straight to it (for example, #70-pages), and every time comes from the tool's own calculation.
| Pages | Words (at 250 per page) | Slower reader (200 wpm) | Average (238 wpm) | Faster reader (300 wpm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 250 | 1 min 15 s | 1 min 3 s | 50 s |
| 2 | 500 | 2 min 30 s | 2 min 6 s | 1 min 40 s |
| 3 | 750 | 3 min 45 s | 3 min 9 s | 2 min 30 s |
| 4 | 1,000 | 5 min | 4 min 12 s | 3 min 20 s |
| 5 | 1,250 | 6 min 15 s | 5 min 15 s | 4 min 10 s |
| 6 | 1,500 | 7 min 30 s | 6 min 18 s | 5 min |
| 7 | 1,750 | 8 min 45 s | 7 min 21 s | 5 min 50 s |
| 8 | 2,000 | 10 min | 8 min 24 s | 6 min 40 s |
| 9 | 2,250 | 11 min | 9 min 27 s | 7 min 30 s |
| 10 | 2,500 | 13 min | 11 min | 8 min 20 s |
| 14 | 3,500 | 18 min | 15 min | 12 min |
| 15 | 3,750 | 19 min | 16 min | 13 min |
| 17 | 4,250 | 21 min | 18 min | 14 min |
| 19 | 4,750 | 24 min | 20 min | 16 min |
| 20 | 5,000 | 25 min | 21 min | 17 min |
| 22 | 5,500 | 28 min | 23 min | 18 min |
| 25 | 6,250 | 31 min | 26 min | 21 min |
| 30 | 7,500 | 38 min | 32 min | 25 min |
| 33 | 8,250 | 41 min | 35 min | 28 min |
| 35 | 8,750 | 44 min | 37 min | 29 min |
| 38 | 9,500 | 48 min | 40 min | 32 min |
| 40 | 10,000 | 50 min | 42 min | 33 min |
| 45 | 11,250 | 56 min | 47 min | 38 min |
| 46 | 11,500 | 58 min | 48 min | 38 min |
| 50 | 12,500 | 1 h 3 min | 53 min | 42 min |
| 52 | 13,000 | 1 h 5 min | 55 min | 43 min |
| 55 | 13,750 | 1 h 9 min | 58 min | 46 min |
| 57 | 14,250 | 1 h 11 min | 1 h | 48 min |
| 58 | 14,500 | 1 h 13 min | 1 h 1 min | 48 min |
| 60 | 15,000 | 1 h 15 min | 1 h 3 min | 50 min |
| 62 | 15,500 | 1 h 18 min | 1 h 5 min | 52 min |
| 65 | 16,250 | 1 h 21 min | 1 h 8 min | 54 min |
| 70 | 17,500 | 1 h 28 min | 1 h 14 min | 58 min |
| 75 | 18,750 | 1 h 34 min | 1 h 19 min | 1 h 3 min |
| 80 | 20,000 | 1 h 40 min | 1 h 24 min | 1 h 7 min |
| 85 | 21,250 | 1 h 46 min | 1 h 29 min | 1 h 11 min |
| 90 | 22,500 | 1 h 53 min | 1 h 35 min | 1 h 15 min |
| 95 | 23,750 | 1 h 59 min | 1 h 40 min | 1 h 19 min |
| 100 | 25,000 | 2 h 5 min | 1 h 45 min | 1 h 23 min |
| 110 | 27,500 | 2 h 18 min | 1 h 56 min | 1 h 32 min |
| 120 | 30,000 | 2 h 30 min | 2 h 6 min | 1 h 40 min |
| 130 | 32,500 | 2 h 43 min | 2 h 17 min | 1 h 48 min |
| 140 | 35,000 | 2 h 55 min | 2 h 27 min | 1 h 57 min |
| 150 | 37,500 | 3 h 8 min | 2 h 38 min | 2 h 5 min |
| 160 | 40,000 | 3 h 20 min | 2 h 48 min | 2 h 13 min |
| 170 | 42,500 | 3 h 33 min | 2 h 59 min | 2 h 22 min |
| 180 | 45,000 | 3 h 45 min | 3 h 9 min | 2 h 30 min |
| 190 | 47,500 | 3 h 58 min | 3 h 20 min | 2 h 38 min |
| 200 | 50,000 | 4 h 10 min | 3 h 30 min | 2 h 47 min |
| 210 | 52,500 | 4 h 23 min | 3 h 41 min | 2 h 55 min |
| 220 | 55,000 | 4 h 35 min | 3 h 51 min | 3 h 3 min |
| 230 | 57,500 | 4 h 48 min | 4 h 2 min | 3 h 12 min |
| 240 | 60,000 | 5 h | 4 h 12 min | 3 h 20 min |
| 250 | 62,500 | 5 h 13 min | 4 h 23 min | 3 h 28 min |
| 260 | 65,000 | 5 h 25 min | 4 h 33 min | 3 h 37 min |
| 270 | 67,500 | 5 h 38 min | 4 h 44 min | 3 h 45 min |
| 280 | 70,000 | 5 h 50 min | 4 h 54 min | 3 h 53 min |
| 290 | 72,500 | 6 h 3 min | 5 h 5 min | 4 h 2 min |
| 300 | 75,000 | 6 h 15 min | 5 h 15 min | 4 h 10 min |
| 350 | 87,500 | 7 h 18 min | 6 h 8 min | 4 h 52 min |
| 400 | 100,000 | 8 h 20 min | 7 h | 5 h 33 min |
| 450 | 112,500 | 9 h 23 min | 7 h 53 min | 6 h 15 min |
| 500 | 125,000 | 10 h 25 min | 8 h 45 min | 6 h 57 min |
How long does it take to read a book?
A novel of 80,000 to 100,000 words takes about 5 to 6.5 hours to read at 260 words per minute, the average speed for fiction in Brysbaert's review: 5 h 8 min for 80,000 words and 6 h 25 min for 100,000.
By pages, a 200-page book takes about 3 h 30 min, a 300-page book about 5 h 15 min and a 400-page book about 7 hours at 238 words per minute.
Word counts beat page counts, because they don't depend on the font or the trim size. If you know your book's word count, switch the tool to Words, or use this table:
| Words | Slower (200 wpm) | Non-fiction (238 wpm) | Fiction (260 wpm) | Faster (300 wpm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | 5 min | 4 min 12 s | 3 min 51 s | 3 min 20 s |
| 10,000 | 50 min | 42 min | 38 min | 33 min |
| 50,000 | 4 h 10 min | 3 h 30 min | 3 h 12 min | 2 h 47 min |
| 80,000 | 6 h 40 min | 5 h 36 min | 5 h 8 min | 4 h 27 min |
| 100,000 | 8 h 20 min | 7 h | 6 h 25 min | 5 h 33 min |
| 150,000 | 12 h 30 min | 10 h 30 min | 9 h 37 min | 8 h 20 min |
How to find your book's word count
- E-books. Many e-book stores and reading apps show a length or word count on the book's page.
- The publisher. Publishers and authors often list the word count, especially for new releases.
- Count it yourself. Count the words on 3 full pages, divide by 3, and multiply by the number of pages. Or enter that words-per-page number in the tool under Book format.
Got a long list of books for someday? Put the big ones on a bucket list, and this chart tells you what each one asks of your evenings.
What is the average reading speed?
Adults read English silently at about 238 words per minute for non-fiction and 260 for fiction, according to a 2019 meta-analysis by Marc Brysbaert of 190 studies with 18,573 participants. Reading out loud averages about 183 words per minute in the same review, and an audiobook at normal speed is slower still.
Why is fiction faster? Brysbaert found the gap is mostly about word length: non-fiction uses longer words. And the 300 words per minute that many sites quote as the average? In the British Psychological Society's summary of the review, Brysbaert calls a target of 300 unrealistic for the majority of people.
| How you read | Words per minute | Time for 100 pages |
|---|---|---|
| Listening to an audiobook at 1x | about 155 | 2 h 41 min |
| Reading out loud | 183 | 2 h 17 min |
| Silent, non-fiction | 238 | 1 h 45 min |
| Silent, fiction | 260 | 1 h 36 min |
The audiobook pace comes from Audible's ACX, which estimates about 9,300 words per finished hour of narration, about 155 words per minute. Want your own number instead of an average? The Reading Speed Test gives it to you in about 2 minutes; type the result into the tool under My speed. Reading a speech out loud is speaking, not reading: the Words to Minutes Calculator times that.
How we calculate reading time (and why sites disagree)
Reading time in minutes is the number of pages times the words per page, divided by your words per minute. The tool uses 238 words per minute, the research average for non-fiction from Brysbaert's 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies, and 260 when you pick Fiction. It assumes 250 words per page for a standard paperback, a rule of thumb rather than a measured standard, and lets you change both. It rounds to whole minutes, or to seconds under 10 minutes, and shows a range from 200 to 300 words per minute because people differ. Sites disagree because they quietly pick other numbers: 250 or 300 words per minute, 250 to 300 words per page. Those two choices alone can nearly double the answer for the same book. The estimate is pure reading time: breaks, rereading, hard material and tiredness all add to it.
Worked example
Same 100-page book, three sets of assumptions:
- The tool's default. 100 pages × 250 words = 25,000 words. 25,000 ÷ 238 = 105 minutes, or 1 h 45 min.
- A fast reader, roomy pages. 25,000 words ÷ 300 = 1 h 23 min.
- A careful reader, dense pages. 100 pages × 300 words = 30,000 words. 30,000 ÷ 200 = 2 h 30 min.
That last pair is almost twice apart for one book. So we pick the cautious research figure as the default and show the assumptions next to every result.
Why does it take you longer than the calculator says?
Because the calculator measures pure reading at a steady pace, and real reading has friction. Dense pages, hard material, rereading and a phone on the table all stretch the time. If you're often well over the estimate, your own speed on this kind of book is lower than the average, and that's normal.
- Dense pages. Small type and wide pages can hold far more than 250 words.
- Hard or new material. Unfamiliar words and ideas slow everyone down.
- Rereading and distractions. Going back over a paragraph, or checking your phone between pages.
- Reading tired. The same chapter at 11 PM takes longer than on a Saturday morning.
And speed reading? A 2016 review by Keith Rayner and colleagues concluded there is a trade-off between speed and understanding: readers are unlikely to double or triple their speed without losing comprehension. That's why the tool warns you above 700 words per minute, about three times the average.
The fix is simple: time yourself for 5 minutes on the book you're reading now, multiply the pages you covered by its words per page, divide by 5, and enter that under My speed. If you read with dyslexia or in a second language, averages say little about you. Your own measured speed is the only number that counts.
How many minutes a day to finish a book?
A 300-page book takes about 5 hours 15 minutes at 238 words per minute, so reading 20 minutes a day gets you to the last page in 16 days. Double it to 40 minutes and you're done in 8 days. Or pick a finish date in the tool's Make a reading plan box and it works out the minutes a day: 23 for that book in 14 days.
| Book | Reading time | 10 min a day | 20 min a day | 30 min a day | 60 min a day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 pages | 3 h 30 min | 21 days | 11 days | 7 days | 4 days |
| 300 pages | 5 h 15 min | 32 days | 16 days | 11 days | 6 days |
| 400 pages | 7 h | 42 days | 21 days | 14 days | 7 days |
Over a year, the small sessions add up. 20 minutes a day is 7,300 minutes, more than 120 hours of reading. At 315 minutes per 300-page book, that's about 23 books a year without finding a single extra hour.
Prefer longer sessions? Two 25-minute blocks with the Pomodoro Timer cover 50 minutes, enough for a 200-page book in 5 days.
Turn your reading time into a daily reading habit
The number of minutes a day from your plan is easy to promise and easy to skip. It sticks better when it has a fixed place in your day: 20 minutes in bed instead of scrolling, or 10 pages with your morning coffee. The list of habit examples has more ideas for that kind of anchor.
In Greatr, reading is one of the habits you can stack into your morning or evening routine. You tap Play and run the routine one habit at a time, and the app lock can keep Instagram or TikTok closed until you've finished your routine. Every reading session earns XP and keeps your streak going, day after day, until the last page.
Your next step: open the plan box above, pick 20 minutes a day, and start tonight.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to read 100 pages?
About 1 hour 45 minutes at 238 words per minute, the average adult speed for non-fiction in a 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies, with 250 words per page. A slower reader at 200 words per minute needs about 2 h 5 min, a faster one at 300 about 1 h 23 min. Fiction at 260 words per minute takes about 1 h 36 min.
How long does it take to read one page?
About 1 minute. One page of a typical paperback holds about 250 words, which takes 1 min 3 s at 238 words per minute, the research average for adults reading non-fiction. A slower reader at 200 words per minute needs about 1 min 15 s, and a faster reader at 300 about 50 seconds. Denser pages take longer.
How long does it take to read a book?
A 300-page book takes about 5 hours 15 minutes at 238 words per minute and 250 words per page, a 200-page book about 3 h 30 min and a 400-page book about 7 hours. A novel of 80,000 to 100,000 words takes about 5 h 8 min to 6 h 25 min at 260 words per minute, the average speed for fiction.
How long does it take to read 10,000 words?
About 42 minutes at 238 words per minute, the average silent reading speed for adults reading non-fiction, and about 38 minutes for fiction at 260 words per minute. A slower reader at 200 words per minute needs about 50 minutes, and a faster reader at 300 about 33 minutes. That is roughly 40 pages of a typical paperback.
What is the average reading speed for adults?
About 238 words per minute for non-fiction and 260 for fiction when reading English silently, according to Marc Brysbaert's 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies with 18,573 participants. Reading out loud averages about 183 words per minute. Brysbaert calls the 300 words per minute that many sites quote unrealistic for most people. Your own speed may differ, so measure it.
How many words are on a page of a book?
About 250 to 300 for a typical paperback, but there is no fixed standard: page size, font size and margins change it. This calculator uses 250 for a standard paperback, 300 for a large paperback or hardcover, 350 for dense non-fiction and 150 for large print. To check your book, count the words on 3 full pages and divide by 3.
How many minutes a day should I read to finish a book?
It depends on the book and your deadline. At 238 words per minute, a 300-page book takes about 5 hours 15 minutes, so 20 minutes a day finishes it in 16 days and 30 minutes a day in 11 days. To finish it in 14 days, read 23 minutes a day. The reading plan in the calculator works this out for any book.
Is reading aloud slower than reading silently?
Yes. Adults read out loud at about 183 words per minute on average, against 238 to 260 silently, according to Marc Brysbaert's 2019 review. So 100 pages takes about 2 h 17 min out loud and 1 h 45 min silently. Audiobooks are slower still: narrators average about 9,300 words per hour, about 155 words per minute.
Sources
- How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate
- Most comprehensive review to date finds the average person's reading speed is slower than commonly thought
- How long will my narrated audiobook be?
- So much to read, so little time: How do we read, and can speed reading help?
About this tool
Jeroen Snel is a co-founder of Greatr who writes about habit research, focus and iPhone settings: checking how a study was run before trusting its headline, then turning what holds up into steps you can take.
Read full bioHow we built this
Jeroen Snel built this tool and wrote this guide from the studies and guidelines listed above, linked so you can check them. The tool runs in your browser and keeps nothing you type. Greatr is our own app: we mention it where it fits, and it never decides what a study says. It is general information, not medical advice. Published Nov 1, 2026. Read our editorial policy.
