What is Reading Time?
A practical explanation of text-only reading-time estimates, their assumptions and their limits.
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The calculation
Estimated reading time equals word count divided by an assumed reading speed. ToolBullet uses 238 words per minute for its central non-fiction estimate, 175 WPM for a slower reference and 300 WPM for a faster reference. Each result rounds up to a whole minute; a positive result below one minute is shown as less than one minute.
Why 238 words per minute?
A 2019 meta-analysis by Marc Brysbaert reported a mean silent-reading rate of 238 words per minute for English non-fiction and 260 WPM for fiction, with wide variation. The calculator’s 175–300 range is a practical display range, not a confidence interval or a prediction for one reader.
What the estimate excludes
The calculator uses text words only. It does not add time for images, tables, equations, code, audio, video, navigation, note-taking or interaction. Familiarity, language proficiency, accessibility needs, text difficulty and reading purpose can materially change actual time.
How words are counted
ToolBullet uses Unicode-aware word segmentation where supported, with a Unicode regular-expression fallback. Another editor may return a different total for URLs, compounds or punctuation.
Sources and further reading
Marc Brysbaert, “How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate,” Journal of Memory and Language 109 (2019), DOI: 10.1016/j.jml.2019.104047. Unicode segmentation: UAX #29. Sources reviewed 23 June 2026.