How Long Does It Take to Read 50,000 Words?

Reading time varies depending on the type of content and the person reading, but on average 50,000 words will take about 2.8 hours to read.

Documents with 50,000 words or more are usually full-length novels.

This time is an estimate and you may be able to read much faster or slower. Average adults read 300 words per minute (wpm) when pleasure reading. Technical material on the other hand such as textbooks, operating manuals, repair guides, or scientific research require focus which brings the average reading speed down to 125 words per minute. College students who need to skim textbooks and other reading materials typically need to be able to read at 400-450 words per minute.

Estimated Reading Times for Various Word Counts

The table below will tell you how long it will take to read various word counts at different words-per-minute (wpm) speeds. Use it as a reference, but your mileage may vary:

WordsSlow (125 wpm)Average (300 wpm)Fast (450 wpm)
125 words1 minutes0.4 minutes0.3 minutes
250 words2 minutes0.8 minutes0.6 minutes
500 words4 minutes1.7 minutes1.1 minutes
600 words5 minutes2.0 minutes1.3 minutes
750 words6 minutes2.5 minutes1.7 minutes
800 words6 minutes2.7 minutes1.8 minutes
1,000 words8 minutes3.3 minutes2.2 minutes
1,500 words12 minutes5.0 minutes3.3 minutes
2,000 words16 minutes6.7 minutes4.4 minutes
2,500 words20 minutes8.3 minutes5.6 minutes
3,000 words24 minutes10.0 minutes6.7 minutes
3,500 words28 minutes11.7 minutes7.8 minutes
4,000 words32 minutes13.3 minutes8.9 minutes
5,000 words40 minutes16.7 minutes11.1 minutes
7,500 words60 minutes25.0 minutes16.7 minutes
10,000 words1.3 hours33.3 minutes22.2 minutes
20,000 words2.7 hours1.1 hours44.4 minutes
25,000 words3.3 hours1.4 hours55.6 minutes
30,000 words4.0 hours1.7 hours1.1 hours
50,000 words6.7 hours2.8 hours1.9 hours
75,000 words10.0 hours4.2 hours2.8 hours
100,000 words13.3 hours5.6 hours3.7 hours

Reading Time by Page Counts

If you want to know how long reading various page counts will take at different words-per-minute (wpm) reading speeds, take a look at the table below. The type of content may determine how quickly you read as well:

WordsSlow (125 wpm)Average (300 wpm)Fast (450 wpm)
1 words4 minutes1.7 minutes1.1 minutes
2 words8 minutes3.3 minutes2.2 minutes
3 words12 minutes5.0 minutes3.3 minutes
4 words16 minutes6.7 minutes4.4 minutes
5 words20 minutes8.3 minutes5.6 minutes
6 words24 minutes10.0 minutes6.7 minutes
7 words28 minutes11.7 minutes7.8 minutes
8 words32 minutes13.3 minutes8.9 minutes
9 words36 minutes15.0 minutes10.0 minutes
10 words40 minutes16.7 minutes11.1 minutes
25 words1.7 hours41.7 minutes27.8 minutes
50 words3.3 hours1.4 hours55.6 minutes
100 words6.7 hours2.8 hours1.9 hours
250 words16.7 hours6.9 hours4.6 hours
500 words33.3 hours13.9 hours9.3 hours
750 words50.0 hours20.8 hours13.9 hours
1,000 words66.7 hours27.8 hours18.5 hours
51,000 words »« 49,000 words