Reading time estimator

Adults reading English prose for comprehension manage somewhere between 150 and 300 words a minute, with most people near the middle. The estimate is the word count divided by each of those speeds. Speaking is slower still, so the last line is the length of the piece as a talk or a voiceover.

Dense or technical text reads slower than the average, and text full of headings, lists and short paragraphs reads faster. If you publish a reading time, round it and pick one speed; a byline that says "6 min read" is a promise about the reader's afternoon, not a measurement.