How fast do you read — and how much do you keep?
Words per minute is easy to measure and easy to fool. Skim a page without taking any of it in and the number goes up. These tools measure the second half of the question too.
Two minutes. No signup, no email, nothing saved.
Tools
Reading speed test
Read one passage at your own pace, answer a few comprehension questions, and get your words per minute, your comprehension score, and the two combined into an effective reading speed.
More pages in this section — average reading speed, how to read faster, subvocalization and a reading time calculator — are being written.
Speed only means something with comprehension attached
A reader who covers 400 words a minute and understands half of them is getting through 200 words a minute of actual reading. A reader at 250 who understands all of it is getting through 250. On a raw speed test the first reader wins by a wide margin, which is a good illustration of what raw speed tests are worth.
Every tool in this section reports speed and understanding together, because separating them produces a number that flatters you without telling you anything.