Average reading speed: what the numbers mean and how to read faster
The average reading speed of adults reading English silently is about 238 words per minute for non-fiction and 260 for fiction, according to a 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies. Most adults read non-fiction at 175 to 300 words per minute. Reading aloud is slower, at about 183 words per minute, and the often-quoted 300 is too high for most people.
A reading speed tells you little on its own. It depends on the kind of text, on whether you read silently or aloud, on the language, and above all on how much you understood. This guide explains the research figures, the arithmetic behind words per minute and what actually helps, then points to a free reading speed test you can take in a few minutes.
Key ideas
- Adults reading English silently average about 238 words per minute on non-fiction and 260 on fiction.
- Most adults land between 175 and 300 words per minute on non-fiction, so 300 is above typical, not normal.
- Speed only counts together with comprehension: effective speed is words per minute multiplied by the share of questions answered correctly.
- Vocabulary and plenty of reading make you faster over time; promises of huge speeds with full understanding are not backed by research.
What the reading speed figures mean
The most complete summary so far is a 2019 review by Brysbaert, who pooled 190 studies of adults reading English silently. Non-fiction averaged 238 words per minute and fiction 260. Those are means, so a single reader can sit comfortably on either side of them.
The spread matters as much as the average. For non-fiction, most adults fall somewhere between 175 and 300 words per minute; for fiction, between 200 and 320. Fiction goes faster mainly because its words are shorter; non-fiction relies on longer, more technical vocabulary, and every extra letter costs a little time.
You will often see 300 words per minute quoted as the normal adult rate. The review found that number to be an overestimate for most people. Reading at 220 or 250 is not a sign that something is wrong; it is close to what the research measured. Rates are lower again for children, for older adults and for anyone reading in a second language.
How words per minute are counted, and why comprehension belongs next to speed
Words per minute is a simple ratio: the number of words in the passage divided by the minutes you spent reading it. A 500-word article read in two minutes gives 250 words per minute. Seconds have to be converted first, so 1 minute 40 seconds becomes about 1.67 minutes.
That ratio says nothing about what stayed in your head. Anyone can turn pages quickly; the useful question is how much of the text you could explain afterwards. This is why a fair reading test checks understanding with questions once you have finished.
One way to combine both numbers is effective speed: multiply words per minute by the proportion of correct answers. Reading at 300 words per minute and getting two of four questions right gives an effective speed of 150. Reading at 240 and answering all four correctly gives 240, which is the better result.
Other languages and reading aloud
A 2012 study behind the International Reading Speed Texts, known as IReST, asked normally sighted adults to read short passages aloud in 17 languages. The average across languages was about 184 words per minute, and Finnish was the slowest at around 161. Languages with longer words produced fewer words per minute, which is why Finnish came out lowest.
The practical lesson is that words per minute do not transfer cleanly from one language to another. If you read in Russian, Spanish or French, your number will differ from English figures simply because words differ in length, so the fairest comparison is between your own results in the same language over time. Keep silent and aloud results apart as well: the 2019 review measured reading aloud at about 183 words per minute, well below the silent averages.
How to read faster without losing understanding
A 2016 review in Psychological Science in the Public Interest by Rayner and colleagues examined how reading works and whether speed-reading training delivers what it claims. Its central finding is a trade-off: reading much faster than your normal pace generally lowers how much you understand. Courses that promise very high speeds with full comprehension are not supported by the evidence.
What reliably helps is stronger language skill. A wider vocabulary means fewer words that slow you down, and reading a lot builds that vocabulary along with familiarity with how sentences are put together. When you only need the gist of a text, skimming is a legitimate tool; just accept that you are trading detail for time.
To find your starting point, use the free reading speed test at VITON13 SCHOOL. It runs in the browser without sign-up: you pick one of three texts (a story, an article or a harder article), press "Start reading", read at your usual pace, press "I've finished" and answer four questions about the text. You then see words per minute, characters per minute, comprehension out of 4 and effective speed, and your best result is kept in your browser only.
In everyday language
Reading speed is like walking through a museum: rushing past every painting gets you to the exit sooner, but you remember almost nothing. Words per minute measure the pace, and the questions show what you actually saw.
Try it yourself
Open the reading speed test, choose one of the three texts, read it at your normal pace and answer the four questions.
Expected result
Four figures: your speed in words and in characters per minute, a comprehension score out of 4 and an effective speed, plus your best result so far.
Check your answer: You read a 600-word text in 2 minutes 30 seconds. What is your reading speed in words per minute?
240 words per minute. Two and a half minutes is 2.5 minutes, and 600 divided by 2.5 is 240. That is very close to the 2019 average of 238 for non-fiction. With three of four answers correct, effective speed would be 240 × 0.75 = 180.
Questions
Is 300 words per minute a normal reading speed?
It is above typical. The 2019 meta-analysis found that 300 is an overestimate for most adults; the averages were 238 for non-fiction and 260 for fiction. A result of 300 with good comprehension is fast, not ordinary.
Why am I slower when I read in another language?
Reading in a second language lowers the rate for most people, and languages with longer words give fewer words per minute anyway. Judge progress by repeating the test in the same language rather than against English averages.
Take the free VITON13 SCHOOL reading speed test now, note both your words per minute and your comprehension, and repeat it with a different text in a few weeks to see whether reading more has moved the numbers.
Sources and further reading
- Brysbaert (2019): How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate ↗Sources checked:
- Trauzettel-Klosinski and Dietz (2012): Standardized assessment of reading performance: the new International Reading Speed Texts IReST ↗Sources checked:
- Rayner et al. (2016): So much to read, so little time: How do we read, and can speed reading help? ↗Sources checked: