700 wpm test
Can you read 700 words a minute?
700 words a minute is 2.9 times the adult average of 238. It is 4.7 times the pace of speech, and the pace of a speed reader in full flow. This test shows you 272 words at exactly that speed in 23 seconds, then checks what you kept.
Read 272 words at 700 words a minute
One word at a time, about 23 seconds. Keep your eyes on the red letter. Four questions follow.
700 words a minute.
| Book | At your speed |
|---|---|
| The Great Gatsby | |
| 1984 | |
| The Hobbit | |
| Pride and Prejudice | |
| War and Peace | |
| The King James Bible |
What 700 words a minute feels like
Words stop feeling like words and start arriving as meaning. Hold your eye on the red letter and let them come.
How long books take at 700 wpm
| Book | At 238 wpm | At 700 wpm |
|---|---|---|
| The Great Gatsby | 3.3 hours | 67 minutes |
| 1984 | 6.2 hours | 2.1 hours |
| The Hobbit | 6.7 hours | 2.3 hours |
| Pride and Prejudice | 8.5 hours | 2.9 hours |
| War and Peace | 41.1 hours | 14.0 hours |
| The King James Bible | 54.8 hours | 18.6 hours |
Questions
Is 700 words a minute fast?
700 words a minute is 2.9 times the adult average of 238 for non-fiction (Brysbaert (2019), a review of 190 studies, Journal of Memory and Language). It is the pace of a speed reader in full flow.
How long does it take to read a book at 700 wpm?
At 700 words a minute, The Great Gatsby (about 47,000 words) takes 67 minutes and 1984 (about 89,000 words) takes 2.1 hours. At the average 238, they take 3.3 hours and 6.2 hours.
Can I learn to read at 700 words a minute?
Yes. Train up to it in steps of 25 words a minute, with a quiz on every read. When the answers hold at one pace, you take the next.