How long does it take to read 120 pages?
2 hr 18 min for an average reader (238 words per minute, ~275 words a page).
120 pages is novella length: one long evening, or a few commutes. Slow readers need about 3 hr 8 min; fast readers about 1 hr 50 min.
Your time for 120 pages
120 pages × 275 words ≈ 33,000 words ÷ 238 wpm. Measure your own speed
| Reader | Speed | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Slow / careful | 175 wpm | 3 hr 8 min |
| Reading aloud | 183 wpm | 3 hr |
| Average adult | 238 wpm | 2 hr 18 min |
| Fiction, average | 260 wpm | 2 hr 6 min |
| Fast reader | 300 wpm | 1 hr 50 min |
| Very fast | 400 wpm | 1 hr 22 min |
| Page type | Words/page | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Paperback novel | ~275 | 2 hr 18 min |
| Hardcover / large print | ~230 | 1 hr 55 min |
| Textbook / non-fiction | ~350 | 2 hr 56 min |
| Document, single-spaced | ~500 | 4 hr 12 min |
| Document, double-spaced | ~250 | 2 hr 6 min |
How this estimate works
Time = pages × words per page ÷ reading speed. A typical paperback page holds about 250–300 words, so we use 275. The 238 wpm average comes from a 2019 review of 190 reading studies by psychologist Marc Brysbaert; fiction is read a little faster, at about 260 wpm. Your real time also depends on the font, the page size and how dense the writing is, so treat it as a planning figure. To get a figure for you rather than the average, take the 60-second reading speed test; your result then appears as “My speed” in the calculator above.
Working in words instead of pages? Use the reading time calculator, or convert with words to pages.
Other book lengths
100 pages105 pages110 pages115 pages125 pages130 pages135 pages140 pages50 pages200 pages300 pages400 pages500 pagesAll lengths
Questions people ask
How long does it take to read 120 pages?
About 2 hr 18 min for an average adult reading silently at 238 words per minute, assuming a paperback page of about 275 words (33,000 words in total). A slower reader at 175 wpm needs about 3 hr 8 min; a fast reader at 300 wpm about 1 hr 50 min.
How many days to read 120 pages?
At 30 minutes of reading a day and an average speed, about 5 days. At an hour a day, about 3 days.
How many words are in 120 pages?
Roughly 33,000 words in a paperback (about 275 words a page). A single-spaced document page holds about 500 words, so 120 document pages is about 60,000 words.
How many pages can you read in an hour?
About 52 paperback pages at the average adult speed of 238 wpm, or about 28 single-spaced document pages. Dense textbooks go slower, often 20–30 pages an hour.