Reading Time Estimator

See how long any article takes to read, with a live progress bar as you scroll.

Reading Time Estimator adds two things to every article you read: 1. A read time estimate before you start. 2. A live progress bar that follows you as you scroll. Short description: See how long any article takes to read, with a live progress bar that tracks your scroll position. Detailed description: You open an article. You have no idea if it's a 2-minute skim or a 15-minute commitment. Reading Time Estimator solves that in one glance. What it does: - Detects article content automatically - no setup needed - Shows estimated read time and word count just above the article title - Displays a thin progress bar at the top of the page as you scroll - Opens a popup with live stats: words, progress %, and time remaining - Works on Medium, Substack, BBC, personal blogs, and most article-based sites Customise it to your taste: - Choose your progress bar colour from a curated palette or pick any custom colour - Add a bottom border to the bar for visibility on dark navigation bars - Adjust your reading speed (100–500 wpm) — your preference is saved across sessions - All settings sync instantly across every open tab Lightweight and private: ^ No sign-up, no account, no cloud ^ Your data never leaves your browser ^ No analytics or tracking of any kind ^ Works offline A note on how read time is calculated: Reading Time Estimator counts the words in the main article body and divides by your reading speed (default 200 wpm). Navigation, sidebars, and footers are excluded. The estimate updates if you change your reading speed in the popup.