Use this Speed Reading Test and Speed Reading Calculator to measure and improve your reading speed. If you want to have more time for what you really enjoy, improving your reading speed is an essential skill. A large part of everyday life and work involves reading — emails, articles, reports, books — and learning to read faster can significantly boost your productivity and free up time.
How a Faster Reading Speed Can Improve Your Life
Reading faster without missing information makes you more efficient. But what does this mean in practice? Imagine reading for 3 hours daily. A 10% increase in reading speed would save you about 16 minutes per day. A 25% improvement would save 36 minutes, and a 50% improvement would give you back a full hour! Some advanced speed readers report increasing their speed by 300%, turning 3 hours of reading into just 1 hour. Think about how much more you could achieve or enjoy with that extra time.
Benefits of Increasing Reading Speed
✔️ More free time — spend less time reading, more time on what matters.
✔️ Improved focus and concentration — fast reading requires your brain to work harder and more efficiently.
✔️ Better memory and comprehension — training your brain to read faster also strengthens your ability to retain information.
✔️ Increased motivation and enjoyment — as reading becomes easier and faster, you may find yourself reading more and exploring new topics.
Speed Reading Step-by-Step
In this section, I’ll explain a simple yet effective speed reading technique. Don’t be surprised if you improve your reading speed by 50% on your first attempt!
Increasing your reading speed is one of the easiest ways to gain more free time and become a more efficient learner. The technique below takes just a few minutes to learn and is completely free. When I tested it, I increased my reading speed by 34% on the first try.
Important: Don’t treat speed reading as a competition. The goal is to enhance your quality of life by making reading more efficient and enjoyable. Measuring your reading speed is useful to track progress, but it’s not the ultimate goal.
How to Measure Your Reading Speed
- Choose a book without pictures or lists, with full pages of text.
- Count the words in the first four lines, divide by four to get words per line.
- Count the number of lines on a page, multiply by words per line to get words per page.
- Time yourself reading three pages. Write down how long it took (minutes and seconds).
- Divide your total time by three to get your average reading time per page. Then calculate your words per minute (WPM).
Use this initial measurement to establish your current reading speed baseline.
The Speed Reading Method
Most untrained readers read word by word from left to right. However, your eyes and brain can process more than just the words in your central focus. The key is to leverage your peripheral vision.
Instead of reading from the first to the last word on each line, start slightly inward (for example, at word 3 of 10) and stop reading slightly before the end of the line. Your brain will still capture the words on the edges. Gradually practice increasing this “visual span.”
Speed Reading Test: Measure Your New Reading Speed
Now try this method and measure your reading speed again. Use the same book and the same number of pages as your initial test. Compare your new WPM to your original reading speed.
Use the Speed Reading Improvement Calculator below to easily calculate your improvement in both percentages and words per minute:
Tips for Improving Reading Speed Further
✔️ Gradually increase your “visual span” — start reading lines from word 4 to word 7 instead of word 3 to word 8.
✔️ Practice skimming — a helpful technique for quickly reviewing familiar material.
✔️ Use a finger or pen to guide your eyes along the text — this can help you maintain focus and pace.
✔️ Regular practice — the more you practice speed reading, the more natural it will become.
Related Tools
Use these tools to further improve your reading and presentation skills, save time, and increase your productivity.