How the calculator works
It divides the word count by a pace in words a minute and shows the result in minutes and seconds. Reading time uses 238 words a minute, the average silent reading pace for adults found in a 2019 review of 190 studies.
- Speaking minutes = words / words a minute
- Speaking time in seconds = speaking minutes x 60, rounded to the nearest second
- Reading time = words / 238, shown in minutes and seconds
- Worked example: 1,000 / 130 = 7.69 minutes, which is 7 minutes 42 seconds
Speaking time for common word counts
These are the same sums the calculator does, worked out for the word counts people ask about most.
| Words | 110 a minute | 130 a minute | 150 a minute | Reading at 238 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 55 sec | 46 sec | 40 sec | 25 sec |
| 250 | 2 min 16 sec | 1 min 55 sec | 1 min 40 sec | 1 min 3 sec |
| 500 | 4 min 33 sec | 3 min 51 sec | 3 min 20 sec | 2 min 6 sec |
| 750 | 6 min 49 sec | 5 min 46 sec | 5 min | 3 min 9 sec |
| 1,000 | 9 min 5 sec | 7 min 42 sec | 6 min 40 sec | 4 min 12 sec |
| 1,500 | 13 min 38 sec | 11 min 32 sec | 10 min | 6 min 18 sec |
| 2,000 | 18 min 11 sec | 15 min 23 sec | 13 min 20 sec | 8 min 24 sec |
| 2,500 | 22 min 44 sec | 19 min 14 sec | 16 min 40 sec | 10 min 30 sec |
| 3,000 | 27 min 16 sec | 23 min 5 sec | 20 min | 12 min 36 sec |
| 5,000 | 45 min 27 sec | 38 min 28 sec | 33 min 20 sec | 21 min 1 sec |
Which pace to pick
Speaking rates differ from person to person and from task to task. A study of recorded English phone calls found averages of about 164 to 196 words a minute. Talking to yourself with pauses to think is usually slower, so the calculator starts at 130.
- Slow, with long pauses: 110 words a minute
- Unhurried, thinking aloud: 130 words a minute
- Everyday conversation: 150 words a minute
- Fast, or reading a script aloud: 180 words a minute
- My own pace: any number from 40 to 400
Timing a script you will read aloud
Reading from a page is faster than speaking from notes. Adults reading aloud average about 183 words a minute, so a written toast or talk often runs shorter than you expect. Read it aloud once with a timer before the day.
- Speaking from notes or from memory: use 130 or 150
- Reading a script word for word: use 180
- Leave room for pauses, laughter and questions, which no word count includes
Edge cases
The result is a planning figure. A few things push real speaking time up or down.
- Very short texts round to the nearest second, and anything with words takes at least 1 second
- Numbers, dates and abbreviations take longer to say than their word count suggests
- Lists and technical terms slow most speakers down
- Languages differ: the same idea can take more or fewer words in German or Spanish than in English
- Up to 100,000 words is accepted, and times over an hour are shown in hours and minutes
Questions about speaking time
How long does it take to say 500 words?
About 3 minutes 51 seconds at 130 words a minute and 3 minutes 20 seconds at 150. Read aloud from a script at 180 words a minute, it takes under 3 minutes.
How many words is a 5 minute speech?
About 650 words at 130 words a minute and 750 at 150. The speaking time to word count calculator works it the other way round.
How long does it take to read 1,000 words silently?
About 4 minutes 12 seconds at 238 words a minute, the adult average for non-fiction in English. Fiction tends to read a little faster, at about 260 words a minute.
Sources
Say it instead of typing it
Dawn Light writes down what you say as you say it, on your iPhone, with a timer on screen. Two minutes of talking is a journal entry of about 260 words you never had to type.
Get Dawn Light freeUnlimited entries, transcripts, search and iCloud sync. For iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Works with iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and watchOS 26 or later.