Fact · Typing and writing speed
238words per minute
A meta-analysis of 190 studies with 18,573 participants estimates the average silent reading rate for adults in English at 238 words per minute for non-fiction and 260 for fiction.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“we estimate that the average silent reading rate for adults in English is 238 words per minute (wpm) for non-fiction and 260 wpm for fiction.”
How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate, Marc Brysbaert, Journal of Memory and Language, 2019, Abstract.
Open the original (DOI 10.1016/j.jml.2019.104047)- What it measures
- The review is the largest of its kind and found earlier popular figures too high.
- What it does not show
- English only; individual readers differ widely.
Source
Used to calculate
- 900 words per minute is about 3.8 times the average adult silent reading rate for non-fiction of 238 words per minute.
- Adults read silently at 238 words per minute, about 4.6 times the 51.56 words per minute average of the large online typing study.
- Average silent reading of non-fiction is about 1.2 times as fast as the overall rate of conversational speech.