Fact · Typing and writing speed
140 to 180words per minute
Brysbaert writes that audiobooks are spoken at a rate of 140 to 180 words per minute, and that other estimates of speech rate are of similar size.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“For instance, audiobooks are spoken at a rate of 140 –180 wpm.”
How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate, Marc Brysbaert, Journal of Memory and Language, 2019, Discussion, on why reading is faster than listening.
Open the original (DOI 10.1016/j.jml.2019.104047)- What it measures
- Brysbaert gives this as a comparison while arguing that reading can run faster than listening. The range is the figure he quotes, not a new measurement of narrators.
- What it does not show
- A quoted range, with no narrator sample behind it. Narrators vary by book, genre and style, so treat it as a typical range.