Average Reading Speed: Words Per Minute for Adults

The average adult reads 238 words per minute silently when the text is non-fiction in English, and 260 words per minute for fiction. Those are the estimates from Marc Brysbaert's 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies and 18,573 participants, published in the Journal of Memory and Language. They're lower than the figures you'll usually see quoted.

Average reading speed by type of reading

Source: Marc Brysbaert (2019), “How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate”, Journal of Memory and Language. Silent reading: 190 studies, 18,573 participants. Reading aloud: 77 studies, 5,965 participants. Rates are lower for children, older adults and people reading in a second language.

Why the usual 300 wpm is too high

A reading rate of 300 words per minute is one of the most widely repeated numbers in reading research, and it gets used to estimate reading times everywhere. Brysbaert's review found that reading speed has been overestimated: the real averages are lower, and the paper sets out how the higher figures took hold.

Fiction is faster than non-fiction

Non-fiction uses longer words on average, and the review found that word length predicts the gap between the two. That's why this site compares your result with the non-fiction average: the test passage is non-fiction, and so is most of what's worth applying.

What about speed reading?

A 2016 review by Rayner and colleagues explained why reading faster than about 1,000 words per minute isn't possible without a severe loss of understanding. Brysbaert also found no evidence for separate "reading gears", other than the difference between reading a text and scanning it.

Test your own speed

Averages tell you where most people sit. Your own number is more useful. Take the reading speed test, then see how long any book takes at the speed you actually read.

Track the books you finish, and the one idea you keep from each, with a free reading log template. For page-count estimates, see how many words per page and how many words in a novel.

Frequently asked

What is the average reading speed?

238 words per minute for adults reading non-fiction silently in English, and 260 for fiction. That comes from Marc Brysbaert's 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies with 18,573 participants. Most adults fall between 175 and 300 wpm for non-fiction.

Is 300 words per minute fast?

It's at the top of the typical adult range for non-fiction (175–300 wpm) and above the 238 wpm average. The widely quoted "average" of 300 wpm is an overestimate, according to the same 2019 review.

Can you read 1,000 words per minute?

Not with full understanding. A 2016 review by Rayner and colleagues explained why reading faster than about 1,000 words per minute isn't possible without a severe loss of understanding. Above that you're scanning, not reading.

How fast do people read out loud?

About 183 words per minute on average, based on 77 studies with 5,965 participants in the same meta-analysis.