Estimate how long a reader needs for a pasted article by counting whitespace-separated words and dividing by a typical adult silent reading speed of about 238 words per minute.
How it works
The tool trims the input, splits on whitespace to obtain a word count, then computes ceil(wordCount / 238), with a minimum of one minute for any non-empty text. The constant matches commonly cited averages for English prose; it is a planning heuristic, not a measurement of any specific reader.
When to use it
- Set expectations on blog posts, release notes, or documentation pages
- Compare draft lengths before editing for a target reading budget
- Pair with character or word counters when forms impose both limits
Limitations
Word splitting does not understand hyphenation rules, CJK scripts without spaces, or math-heavy pages where “words” are a poor proxy for effort. Tables, code blocks, and captions inflate counts without matching narrative reading speed. Empty input is rejected.
Example
A 476-word draft estimates 2 minutes at 238 wpm. A short three-word label still reports 1 minute because the estimate never rounds down to zero for non-empty text.