Reading time calculator for blog posts
Paste your text and see words, reading time and average sentence length at once. You also get a readability score and a pointer to long sentences.
This tool needs JavaScript. It runs entirely in your browser.
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent or stored.
How reading time is worked out
Adults read about 200 to 250 words a minute on screen. The calculator divides the word count by the reading speed you set with the slider. For reading aloud it uses 130 words a minute, which fits roughly if you want to turn a post into audio or video.
Reading time works well as a note at the top of a post. Readers know what they are in for and are more likely to stay to the end.
What the readability score tells you
For English texts the calculator uses the Flesch reading ease formula, for German texts the Amstad version of it. Both count words per sentence and syllables per word. Syllables are estimated by rules, so the score is an approximation. Scores above 60 count as easy to read, below 30 as hard.
The long sentences matter more than the number. The calculator shows how many sentences have more than 20 words and names the longest one. A long sentence almost always gets better when you split it.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a blog post be?
That depends on the topic. A good guide answers the question fully and no longer. Many helpful posts are between 800 and 1,500 words, which is four to seven minutes of reading.
Does the calculator work with text from Word?
Yes. Just copy the text from Word, Google Docs or WordPress into the field. Paragraphs are kept and counted.
Is my text stored anywhere?
No. The text stays in your browser and is neither sent nor stored. If you reload the page, the field is empty again.
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