How long does it take to read 40 pages?
46 min 13 sec for an average reader (238 words per minute, ~275 words a page).
40 pages is novella length: one long evening, or a few commutes. Slow readers need about 1 hr 2 min; fast readers about 36 min 40 sec.
Your time for 40 pages
40 pages × 275 words ≈ 11,000 words ÷ 238 wpm. Measure your own speed
| Reader | Speed | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Slow / careful | 175 wpm | 1 hr 2 min |
| Reading aloud | 183 wpm | 1 hr |
| Average adult | 238 wpm | 46 min 13 sec |
| Fiction, average | 260 wpm | 42 min 18 sec |
| Fast reader | 300 wpm | 36 min 40 sec |
| Very fast | 400 wpm | 27 min 30 sec |
| Page type | Words/page | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Paperback novel | ~275 | 46 min 13 sec |
| Hardcover / large print | ~230 | 38 min 39 sec |
| Textbook / non-fiction | ~350 | 58 min 49 sec |
| Document, single-spaced | ~500 | 1 hr 24 min |
| Document, double-spaced | ~250 | 42 min 1 sec |
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
20 pages25 pages30 pages35 pages45 pages50 pages55 pages60 pages100 pages200 pages300 pages400 pages500 pagesAll lengths
Questions people ask
How long does it take to read 40 pages?
About 46 min 13 sec for an average adult reading silently at 238 words per minute, assuming a paperback page of about 275 words (11,000 words in total). A slower reader at 175 wpm needs about 1 hr 2 min; a fast reader at 300 wpm about 36 min 40 sec.
How many days to read 40 pages?
At 30 minutes of reading a day and an average speed, about 2 days. At an hour a day, about 1 day.
How many words are in 40 pages?
Roughly 11,000 words in a paperback (about 275 words a page). A single-spaced document page holds about 500 words, so 40 document pages is about 20,000 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.