Reading speed test
Read one short chapter at your normal pace and get your words per minute, plus three quick questions to check you weren't skimming.
A single test is a snapshot. Pagehour on the App Store or Google Play tracks your pace on the books you actually read.
Test your reading speed
Read as you would a novel, not faster. The clock starts when you press Start and stops when you press Done. The passage is Chapter 1 of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: 849 words, about four minutes.
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 1
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.
“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?”
Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.
“But it is,” returned she; “for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.”
Mr. Bennet made no answer.
“Do not you want to know who has taken it?” cried his wife, impatiently.
“You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.”
This was invitation enough.
“Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.”
“What is his name?”
“Bingley.”
“Is he married or single?”
“Oh, single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!”
“How so? how can it affect them?”
“My dear Mr. Bennet,” replied his wife, “how can you be so tiresome? You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them.”
“Is that his design in settling here?”
“Design? Nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes.”
“I see no occasion for that. You and the girls may go—or you may send them by themselves, which perhaps will be still better; for as you are as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley might like you the best of the party.”
“My dear, you flatter me. I certainly have had my share of beauty, but I do not pretend to be anything extraordinary now. When a woman has five grown-up daughters, she ought to give over thinking of her own beauty.”
“In such cases, a woman has not often much beauty to think of.”
“But, my dear, you must indeed go and see Mr. Bingley when he comes into the neighbourhood.”
“It is more than I engage for, I assure you.”
“But consider your daughters. Only think what an establishment it would be for one of them. Sir William and Lady Lucas are determined to go, merely on that account; for in general, you know, they visit no new comers. Indeed you must go, for it will be impossible for us to visit him, if you do not.”
“You are over scrupulous, surely. I dare say Mr. Bingley will be very glad to see you; and I will send a few lines by you to assure him of my hearty consent to his marrying whichever he chooses of the girls—though I must throw in a good word for my little Lizzy.”
“I desire you will do no such thing. Lizzy is not a bit better than the others: and I am sure she is not half so handsome as Jane, nor half so good-humoured as Lydia. But you are always giving her the preference.”
“They have none of them much to recommend them,” replied he: “they are all silly and ignorant like other girls; but Lizzy has something more of quickness than her sisters.”
“Mr. Bennet, how can you abuse your own children in such a way? You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion on my poor nerves.”
“You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty years at least.”
“Ah, you do not know what I suffer.”
“But I hope you will get over it, and live to see many young men of four thousand a year come into the neighbourhood.”
“It will be no use to us, if twenty such should come, since you will not visit them.”
“Depend upon it, my dear, that when there are twenty, I will visit them all.”
Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three-and-twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character. Her mind was less difficult to develope. She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. When she was discontented, she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married: its solace was visiting and news.
How does this reading speed test work?
It divides the 849 words in the passage by the minutes between Start and Done. Three multiple-choice questions then check that you read rather than skimmed. Everything runs in your browser: the passage is part of this page, and nothing you do is sent or stored.
What it can't account for:
- One passage. Austen wrote this in 1813. Long sentences and old spellings (“develope”, “neighbourhood”) can read slower than a modern novel.
- The clock keeps running from Start to Done, including any pause or switch to another tab.
- Being timed changes how you read. Some people speed up, some slow down.
- Three questions are a rough check, not a comprehension score.
- Screen, not paper. Your speed on a phone or monitor may differ from a printed book.
Words are counted as runs of letters, so “three-and-twenty” is one word and “Mr.” is one word.
What is a good reading speed?
Adults reading English silently average about 238 words a minute for non-fiction and 260 for fiction, according to a 2019 review of 190 studies with 18,573 readers. Reading aloud averages 183. Individual speeds spread widely around those averages (the standard deviation for non-fiction was 51 words a minute), so a result near them is normal, not slow.
| Reading | Words per minute |
|---|---|
| Silent, non-fiction | 238 |
| Silent, fiction | 260 |
| Aloud | 183 |
Know your speed? Put it into the reading time calculator to see how long your next book will take and the date you'll finish.
Can you read faster without understanding less?
Not by much. A 2016 review of reading research found a trade-off between speed and accuracy: doubling or tripling your speed, say from around 250 to 500–750 words a minute, while understanding as much is unlikely. Skimming gets you through faster with moderate comprehension.
The same review's advice for reading faster while still understanding: practise reading and grow your vocabulary, because language skill is at the heart of reading speed. In practice, that means more time with books, which is the habit Pagehour is built to help with.
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Where does the passage come from?
It's the complete first chapter of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, first published in 1813 and in the public domain. The text is from Project Gutenberg eBook #1342, with its illustration captions left out and double hyphens set as dashes.
Sources
- Brysbaert, M. (2019). How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate. Journal of Memory and Language, 109, 104047.
- Rayner, K., Schotter, E. R., Masson, M. E. J., Potter, M. C., & Treiman, R. (2016). So much to read, so little time: How do we read, and can speed reading help? Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 17(1), 4–34.
- Austen, J. (1813). Pride and Prejudice, Project Gutenberg eBook #1342, fetched 28 September 2026.