Email Reading Time
Estimate how long a recipient takes to read an email.
About Email Reading Time
Dividing the email's word count by a scanning reading speed gives the seconds a recipient likely spends on it. Speed readers skim at roughly 250 words per minute over a screen. Respecting a reader's time is the fastest way to get a reply, and knowing the read time keeps messages brief and decisive.
Formula
Email Reading Time
Read time = email words / reading speed
- reading speed
- Faster scanning pace typical for email
Worked example
With the default values below, Email Reading Time returns Read Time of 0.60. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Email wordsminimum 0
- 150
- Reading speedminimum 1 words/min
- 250 words/min
Results
- Read Time
- 0.60 min
- Read Seconds
- 36
- Impact Verdict
- Standard length
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Email Reading Time
- 3Read Time= 0.60 min
- 4Read Seconds= 36
- 5Impact Verdict= Standard length
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 2 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Email Reading Time calculated?
Read time = email words / reading speed Dividing the email's word count by a scanning reading speed gives the seconds a recipient likely spends on it. Speed readers skim at roughly 250 words per minute over a screen.
Why does Email Reading Time matter?
Respecting a reader's time is the fastest way to get a reply, and knowing the read time keeps messages brief and decisive.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 2 inputs: Email words, Reading speed. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.