Reading Speed Test — Words Per Minute in One Read
Read at your normal pace. The clock starts when the text appears.
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Was this in the passage?
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There were two cats in the shop.
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The shop sold new books only.
- Words per minute
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- Time taken
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- Passage length
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- Speed band
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- Checks passed
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Either a check went the wrong way or the rate is above what an ordinary reader reaches on unfamiliar prose. That usually means the passage was skimmed. Skimming is a real skill and a useful one, but it is not what this number is supposed to describe.
About the Reading Speed Test
Reading speed is easy to measure and easy to fake, which is why most of the design here is about the second part. Press the button, a passage appears, and the clock runs from the moment the text is on screen rather than from the moment you decided to begin. When you reach the end you press the button again and the page divides the passage length by the time you took.
Then it asks two questions. They are not a comprehension score and they are not meant to be one: two items cannot support that claim. They exist because a number produced by skimming looks exactly like a number produced by reading, and without a check there is no way to tell them apart, including for you.
One thing worth knowing before you compare with anyone: the unit is not the same in every language. English, Spanish and Korean count word-like chunks separated by spaces, which for Korean means the eojeol that Korean reading research itself uses. Japanese has no spaces, so it counts characters, which is also the unit Japanese sources quote. A single number across all four would be meaningless in at least one of them.
How to test your reading speed
- Sit as you normally would to read something, then press the button. The passage appears and the clock starts with it.
- Read at your ordinary pace rather than pushing. A rate you cannot sustain on real material is not a useful thing to know about yourself.
- Press Finished reading the moment you reach the last line, not after you have thought about it.
- Answer the two checks. They only confirm that you read; there is no comprehension percentage here and there should not be.
- Read the band alongside the number. Below typical, typical and above typical is as fine as one reading can honestly go.
- If you run it again, remember the passage is the same one. The second run measures rereading, which is always faster and means something different.
Frequently asked questions
Does it cost anything, and is there an account?
No to both, and nothing is installed. The passage, the timing and the result all stay in your browser, and nothing about your reading is sent anywhere.
How is this different from the reading comprehension test here?
Opposite halves of the same question. The comprehension test scores whether you understood several passages and takes as long as it takes. This one only measures how fast you read one passage and refuses to score understanding, because two checks cannot carry that weight. Run this for the speed and that one for the comprehension.
What is a normal reading speed?
For adults reading ordinary prose in their first language, figures in the region of two to three hundred words per minute are the ones usually quoted, and this page treats a slightly wider 150 to 320 as typical. Take any published average loosely: it depends on the material, on whether the reader is being watched, and on what counts as having read something.
Can I get a higher number by skimming?
Yes, trivially, which is exactly why the checks are there. A skimmed run produces a large number and a failed check, and the page will say so. There is nobody to fool here except yourself, and the number is only worth having if it describes reading.
Is speed reading real?
Skimming is real and useful: you can move through a text quickly, pick up structure and find what matters. What has never held up well is the stronger claim that comprehension stays intact at several times normal speed. Treat a very high number as evidence of good skimming rather than of fast reading, and choose deliberately between the two depending on what you are reading.
Why is my second attempt so much faster?
Because it is the same passage and you have already read it. Rereading is faster for everybody, and the gain says nothing about your reading speed on new material. If you want a fair second measurement, come back after enough time that the passage feels unfamiliar again.
Does it work on a phone?
It does, and the passage is set to a comfortable measure on a narrow screen. Line length affects reading speed, so a phone run and a desktop run are not strictly comparable. Compare phone with phone if you are tracking yourself over time.
Why does the passage have no facts in it?
On purpose. A passage full of claims turns the test into something that has to be fact-checked, and turns the checks into questions about knowledge rather than about whether you read the text. A plain description keeps the measurement about reading.