Reading Time Calculator estimates how long it will take to read a given text. It calculates reading time based on word count and customizable reading speed (WPM).
Try it — live request, no key required
No key required to try it. Get a key to use it in your app.
{
"status": "ok",
"error": null,
"data": {
// Reading Time Calculator response payload
}
}
About the Reading Time Calculator API
Reading Time Calculator works by counting words in the text and dividing by the reading speed (words per minute). Default speed is 250 WPM, customizable from 50-1000 WPM. Maximum text length is 500KB.
What people use it for
- Blog Publishing
- Add reading time estimates to blog posts to help readers decide whether to read now or save for later
- Content Management
- Display reading time on articles and documentation to improve user experience and engagement
- Email Campaigns
- Calculate reading time for email newsletters to optimize content length and subject lines
- Educational Content
- Estimate time required for students to read course materials for better scheduling and planning
Ways to call it
One endpoint, many ways in — REST with JSON, XML, YAML and CSV, plus GraphQL and an MCP interface for AI agents.
- JSON
- Default REST response
- XML
- Markup format
- YAML
- Human-readable
- CSV
- Tabular export
- GraphQL
- Query language
- MCP
- For AI agents
Other ways to use Reading Time Calculator
Same data, same APIVerve account, same credit balance — one key works on all of them.
What does the Reading Time Calculator API do?
How do I authenticate Reading Time Calculator API requests?
How much does the Reading Time Calculator API cost?
How fast is the Reading Time Calculator API?
What response formats does the Reading Time Calculator API support?
What HTTP method does the Reading Time Calculator API use?
Request parameters — POST /v1/readingtime
Sent as JSON in the request body. Premium parameters are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them. Anything not listed here is dropped rather than passed through.
Required
| Parameter | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
textRequired | string | This is a sample article with multiple paragraphs. Reading time will be calculated based on word count. | The text to calculate reading time for length 0-500000 |
Optional
| Parameter | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
wpmOptional | integer | 250 | Words per minute reading speed default 250 · range 50-1000 |
curl -X POST "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/readingtime" \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"text":"This is a sample article with multiple paragraphs. Reading time will be calculated based on word count. The average reading speed is 250 words per minute, which can be customized. This helps content creators provide accurate time estimates to their readers.","wpm":250}'Authentication
Send your key in the x-api-key header. That is the only auth step — no token exchange, and no per-endpoint scope to configure.
| Header | When | Value |
|---|---|---|
x-api-keyRequired | Every request | Your API key. Header names are case-insensitive, so X-API-Key is the same header. |
AuthorizationAlternate | Instead of the above | Bearer <key> — for clients that only expose bearer auth. Resolves to the same account and the same billing. |
content-typeRequired | POST body | application/json |
A 401 means the key is missing, invalid or expired. A 403 means the key is valid but not permitted here — blocked by a key restriction or an IP allow-list. Running out of credits is a 429.
Response — POST /v1/readingtime
Every APIVerve endpoint returns the same three top-level keys, so one response handler covers your whole integration: status, error and data. Only data changes shape.
{
"status": "ok",
"error": null,
"data": {
"text_length": 257,
"word_count": 41,
"reading_time_minutes": 1,
"reading_time_seconds": 10,
"reading_time_text": "1 min read",
"words_per_minute": 250
}
}
Response fields
Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.
| Field | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
text_length | number | 257 | |
word_count | number | 41 | Total number of words in the text |
reading_time_minutes | number | 1 | Estimated reading time in minutes |
reading_time_seconds | number | 10 | Estimated reading time in seconds |
reading_time_text | string | "1 min read" | |
words_per_minute | number | 250 | Words per minute used for calculation |
Response headers
Every response carries your balance, so your own code always knows where it stands without polling anything. All four are exposed to browsers through CORS.
| Header | What it carries |
|---|---|
x-api-remaining-credits | Credits left in the current cycle |
x-api-credits-used | Credits spent in the current cycle |
x-api-max-credits | The allowance for the cycle |
x-api-version | Version of the endpoint that answered |
Errors
Read the HTTP status first, then error for the specific reason. The body names the parameter that has to change.
| Status | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
400 | Input was rejected | Read error; it names the parameter that has to change. |
401 | Key missing or invalid | Check the header name and the key value. |
403 | Key valid, but not permitted here | A key restriction or an IP allow-list — never a bad key. |
429 | Rate limited, or out of credits | Read error to tell them apart, then back off or top up. |
What a call costs — 2 credits per call
Credits are shared across every APIVerve API — one balance, one key, one bill. Failed requests never count against it, so a rejected input costs nothing.
| Plan | Per month | Credits | Reading Time Calculator calls | Per 1,000 calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 200 | 100 | Free |
| Starter | $29.99 | 200,000 | 100,000 | $0.30 |
| Pro | $99.99 | 1,000,000 | 500,000 | $0.20 |
| Mega | $299.99 | 4,000,000 | 2,000,000 | $0.15 |
Calls are what the credits buy at this API's rate — spend them here, on any of the other APIs, or across both. Nothing is reserved per endpoint.
Call it from cURL — POST /v1/readingtime
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/readingtime with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/readingtime" \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from Node.js — POST /v1/readingtime
Install the Node.js SDK, then call the Reading Time Calculator API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.
npm install @apiverve/readingtimeconst res = await fetch("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/readingtime", {
headers: { "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY" },
});
const { data } = await res.json();
console.log(data);Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from Python — POST /v1/readingtime
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/readingtime with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
import requests
res = requests.get(
"https://api.apiverve.com/v1/readingtime",
headers={"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
print(res.json()["data"])Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from C# / .NET — POST /v1/readingtime
Install the C# / .NET SDK, then call the Reading Time Calculator API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.
dotnet add package APIVerve.API.ReadingTimeCalculatorusing var client = new HttpClient();
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY");
var json = await client.GetStringAsync("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/readingtime");
Console.WriteLine(json);Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from Go — POST /v1/readingtime
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/readingtime with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/readingtime", nil)
req.Header.Set("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY")
res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
defer res.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from PHP — POST /v1/readingtime
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/readingtime with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
$ch = curl_init("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/readingtime");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, ["x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"]);
$response = curl_exec($ch);
echo $response;Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from Ruby — POST /v1/readingtime
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/readingtime with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
require "net/http"
uri = URI("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/readingtime")
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["x-api-key"] = "YOUR_API_KEY"
res = Net::HTTP.start(uri.hostname, uri.port, use_ssl: true) { |h| h.request(req) }
puts res.bodyResources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Zero-code embed — one snippet, no backend
Drop an interactive Reading Time Calculator form onto any page. The widget calls the API for you, so no key ever appears in your markup and there is nothing to deploy.
Changelog — Reading Time Calculator API
Every change to this endpoint, newest first. Breaking changes ship as a new version and the previous one keeps serving — response fields are added, never removed or retyped in place, so an integration written against v1 keeps working.
Entries are picked up from dated catalog snapshots, so the first one appears after the next snapshot that moves something. A period where nothing changed produces no entry — silence is a valid changelog for the Reading Time Calculator API.
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- Antonym Finder
- Cron Expression Parser
- Data Masking
- Did You Mean
- Emoji Decorator
- Gibberish Detector
- Grammar Check
- ISBN Validator
- JSON Schema Validator
- Keyword Extractor
- Leet Speak
- Levenshtein Distance
- Line Sorter
- Markdown Link Extractor
- Palindrome Checker
- Parts Of Speech
- Phonetic Encoder
- Pig Latin
- Profanity Filter
- Reading Time Calculator
- Regex Tester
- Remove Punctuation
- Reverse Text
- Rhyming Words
- Slugify
- Spell Checker
- Syllable Counter
- Tax ID Validator
- Tense Converter
- Text Language
- Text Lemmatizer
- Text Readability Score
- Text Similarity
- Text Styler
- Text Summarizer
- Text to Emoji
- Title Case Converter
- Translator
- Vowel Counter
- Website Readability
- Word Lexicon Analyzer
- Word Opposites
- Word Pronunciation
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