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These are not the same number, and confusing them is the commonest reason a script overruns. Adults read English non-fiction silently at about 238 words per minute, but a comfortable presentation pace is 130–150 wpm — around 40% slower, because articulation rather than comprehension becomes the limit. A 10-minute slot therefore holds roughly 1,500 words, not the 2,380 words a silent reader could cover in the same time.
| Activity | Words per minute | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Adult silent reading, non-fiction | 238 | Brysbaert (2019), 190 studies |
| Adult silent reading, fiction | ~260 | Brysbaert (2019) |
| Reading aloud | 183 | Brysbaert (2019), 77 studies |
| Careful / study reading of technical text | ~180 | Brysbaert (2019), difficulty effect |
| Prepared speech with pauses | 130-150 | Public-speaking convention |
| Audiobook narration | 150-160 | ACX narrator guidelines (~155 wpm) |
| Fast reader | ~350 | Upper end of the normal distribution |
| Skimming / scanning | 450+ | Not reading for comprehension |
Speeds above about 400 wpm in normal adults mean scanning, not reading. The 2019 meta-analysis found no evidence for distinct "reading gears" — the only real distinction is between reading (comprehending most of the text) and scanning for a specific piece of information.
| What you want to know | Use |
|---|---|
| How long a text takes to read | Reading Time Calculator |
| How long a speech or script will take to deliver | Speech Time Calculator |
| Convert a word count to minutes | Words to Minutes |
| Work out my own reading speed in wpm | Words Per Minute Calculator |
| A specific word count, pre-calculated | The "How long to read N words" pages below |
Most old reading-time tools use 200 words per minute. That number traces back to a 1960s study of mid-century college readers and it is low for today's adults. The current best estimate is Marc Brysbaert's 2019 meta-analysis in the Journal of Memory and Language (volume 109, article 104047), which pooled 190 independent studies and 18,573 participants: adults silently reading English non-fiction average 238 words per minute, fiction runs slightly faster at about 260 wpm, and reading aloud averages 183 wpm.
Two things follow. First, the spread is wide — most adults fall between roughly 175 and 300 wpm on non-fiction, with a standard deviation near 60 wpm. Second, reading speed is not a measure of intelligence: it drops about 25% when text moves from narrative news to a scientific abstract, and readers over 70 lose roughly one to two words per minute per year of age.