How long does it take to read 5 pages?
5 min 47 sec for an average reader (238 words per minute, ~275 words a page).
5 pages is a chapter or two, comfortably read in one sitting. Slow readers need about 7 min 51 sec; fast readers about 4 min 35 sec.
Your time for 5 pages
5 pages × 275 words ≈ 1,375 words ÷ 238 wpm. Measure your own speed
| Reader | Speed | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Slow / careful | 175 wpm | 7 min 51 sec |
| Reading aloud | 183 wpm | 7 min 31 sec |
| Average adult | 238 wpm | 5 min 47 sec |
| Fiction, average | 260 wpm | 5 min 17 sec |
| Fast reader | 300 wpm | 4 min 35 sec |
| Very fast | 400 wpm | 3 min 26 sec |
| Page type | Words/page | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Paperback novel | ~275 | 5 min 47 sec |
| Hardcover / large print | ~230 | 4 min 50 sec |
| Textbook / non-fiction | ~350 | 7 min 21 sec |
| Document, single-spaced | ~500 | 10 min 30 sec |
| Document, double-spaced | ~250 | 5 min 15 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
10 pages15 pages20 pages25 pages50 pages100 pages200 pages300 pages400 pages500 pagesAll lengths
Questions people ask
How long does it take to read 5 pages?
About 5 min 47 sec for an average adult reading silently at 238 words per minute, assuming a paperback page of about 275 words (1,375 words in total). A slower reader at 175 wpm needs about 7 min 51 sec; a fast reader at 300 wpm about 4 min 35 sec.
How many days to read 5 pages?
At 30 minutes of reading a day and an average speed, about 1 day. At an hour a day, about 1 day.
How many words are in 5 pages?
Roughly 1,375 words in a paperback (about 275 words a page). A single-spaced document page holds about 500 words, so 5 document pages is about 2,500 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.