Reading Speed in Words per Minute

Reading speed: WPM = words ÷ minutes

Measure your own pace with WPM = total_words / minutes_elapsed. The usual numbers look like this: recreational reading sits around 200–250 WPM; study reading drops to 100–150 WPM because you stop to take notes and re-read; speed reading hits 500–1,000+ WPM, but you give up some comprehension to get there. Anne Jones holds demonstrated records above 4,700 WPM, although whether comprehension really holds up at that pace is disputed by independent testing. What slows everyone down is subvocalization, the inner voice that sounds out each word; it's physically stuck near 300 WPM because that's about as fast as we speak. Say you read 1,200 words in 6 minutes, that's 200 WPM. If you want to get faster, time yourself each week on texts of similar difficulty, run a pointer along the line to widen your fixations, and practise with RSVP apps that flash one word at a time.

Applications

Pacing yourself on the ENEM and vestibular (the language and humanities sections hand you roughly 90 minutes for 45 questions full of long passages), calibrating audiobook playback speed, RSVP apps like Spreeder and Reedy, the "minute-read" labels you see in content marketing, and checking your own progress in a speed-reading course.

FAQ

Is higher WPM always better? No. Once you push past about 600 WPM on material you don't already know, comprehension falls off a cliff. The right speed depends on what you're after, whether you mean to skim it, study it or just enjoy it.

How do I cut subvocalization? The pointer technique helps, so do peripheral-vision drills and grouping 3–4 words per saccade. Don't try to kill it off completely, though, since that ends up hurting comprehension.

What's a realistic target? With some practice, most adults can hold 300–400 WPM comfortably. Go much past that and you're skimming rather than reading deeply.

Do speed-reading courses work? They do sharpen your skimming and pre-reading skills, no question. The bigger claims, 1,000+ WPM "with full comprehension", just don't hold up in controlled studies.