Words per Minute Calculator - Speech and Reading (2024)

Have you ever wondered how long it takes to deliver a speech? Or how much time you need to read a book? This words per minute calculator (or WPM calculator for short) will help you convert between the number of words and the time taken to read or say. This way, you will not only learn how many words is a 5-minute speech but also how long it takes you to read a document with 2000 words.

If you want to know how much time you need to finish a book, head straight to our reading speed calculator!

In order to determine how long your presentation takes, you first need to find your speaking speed - how many words per minute of speech you can deliver. For example, the average speaking speed in English is 130 wpm (words per minute). If, however, you are frequently told that you speak very slowly or very fast, you should adjust this value accordingly.

You could also measure your speaking speed experimentally. Set a timer to one minute and start reading a passage of text aloud. Once the timer stops, count the words you managed to read. This number is your words per minute speech speed - you can input it directly into our calculator after clicking the advanced mode button.

The same principle as your speaking speed applies to your reading speed - the number of words per minute of reading. The average reading speed for the English language is between 170 and 240 wpm, depending on the text difficulty and your English ability.

Naturally, you can measure your reading speed and input it directly into this reading words per minute calculator. All you have to do is set a timer to one minute and start reading a book (or an e-book), this time silently. Once the timer rings, count the words you read and input the number into the respective field (in the advanced mode).

Once you know your speaking and reading speed, the calculations are a piece of cake! All you have to do is input the number of words you have to say into this words per minute calculator, which will tell you how long your presentation should take.

Of course, you can also use this calculator to figure out the maximum number of words in a speech with a limited time frame - for example, 5 minutes. Let's look at how to use this tool in more detail.

1. Choose whether you will speak to an audience or silently read the text. In this case, we are going to choose speech.

2. Select your speaking speed. We will stay with the average value of 130 wpm.

3. Determine the duration of the speech - here, we will pick a 5-minute elevator pitch.

4. Multiply the reading speed by the time to find out how many words are in a 5-minute speech:

130 × 5 = 650 words

Your speech can have a maximum of 650 words.

To determine the number of words in a talk that will last m minutes:

1. Decide on the speaking rate r:
   • Average: 130 wpm (words per minute);
   • Slow: 100 wpm; and
   • Fast: 160 wpm.
2. Multiply the speaking rate by the time you have in minutes: r × m
3. The result in 2 is the number of words your talk should contain.