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How Long Does It Take To Read 500 Pages?

Adam
ByAdamonMarch 10, 2023

How long does it take to read 500 pages? According to a study from Ghent University, an average adult can read 238 words per minute. Therefore, you should be able to read 500 pages in around 8.8 hours.

But, the exact time it will take you to read will depend on a few factors including your personal reading speed, the type of content you're reading (fiction vs non-fiction), and whether you're reading silently ("in your head") or reading out loud.

In this post, I'll get into the specifics of how long it should take you to read 500 pages.

How Long Does It Take To Read 500 Pages If You're Reading Out Loud?

While the average silent reading speed is 238 words per minute, the average speed when reading out loud is 183 words per minute. That's 23% slower than reading "in your head"!

That means to read 500 pages out loud, it will take 11.4 hours.

How Long Does It Take To Read 500 Pages If You're A Slow Reader?

The average silent reading speed is 238 words per minute, but everyone reads at a different rate. If you're a slower reader, you likely read around 175 words per minute.

A slow reader will take around 11.9 hours to read 500 pages.

How Long Does It Take To Read 500 Pages If You're A Fast Reader?

Fast readers can read about 300 words per minute. That's 26% faster than an average reader.

A fast reader can read 500 pages in just 6.9 hours instead of a normal reader taking 8.8 hours.

How Long Is 500 Pages Compared to Books?

Sometimes the best way to understand just how big something is, is to compare it to things you already know. If you've read one of these books, you can think of 500 pages as any of the following:

Reading 500 pages is like reading Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare once.

Assuming Romeo and Juliet is around 480 pages.

Reading 500 pages is like reading Dune by Frank Herbert once.

Assuming Dune is around 489 pages.

Reading 500 pages is like reading half of Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes.

Assuming Don Quixote is around 1072 pages.

Reading 500 pages is like reading a quarter of The Lord of the Rings (Trilogy) by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Assuming The Lord of the Rings (Trilogy) is around 1800 pages.

How Many Words is 500 Pages?

A typical double-spaced page has 250 words, while a single-spaced page has around 500.
Therefore, 500 pages (double-spaced) is around 125,000 words, and 500 pages (single-spaced) is around 250,000 words.

How Long Does It Take to Read 500 Pages In a Fiction Novel?

People can generally read fiction faster than non-fiction. The average reading speed of fiction (like novels) is 260 words per minute (while non-fiction is 238 words per minute).

So, reading 500 pages of fiction should take around 8 hours for an average person.

Wondering How Long It Takes To Read Something Else?

Type in any amount of words or pages into the section below, and then click "Go". To figure out how long it will take to read anything. Here are some example you could try out:

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