Fact · Typing and writing speed
4.6times
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.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
- How it is calculated
- 238 / 51.56 = 4.6
Calculated from
- 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.
- In a study of 136 million keystrokes from an online typing test, the average participant typed 51.56 words per minute, with a standard deviation of 20.2.