Speed Reading Leaderboard
Readers ranked by Effective Reading Speed (ERS): your reading speed × the share of questions you got right. Get at least 3 of 4 right and score 200 or more to add your score.
Your reading speed multiplied by the share of questions you got right. 300 WPM with 3 of 4 correct = 225 ERS.
You need at least 3 of 4 questions right and a score of 200 ERS or more to join the leaderboard, so fast skimming doesn’t count and an average score isn’t a record.
Scores above 680 ERS (or 1,000 WPM) are faster than real reading with understanding, so they aren’t counted. This is our own limit, based on eye-movement research (Rayner et al., 2016).
Names tagged “House” are our own rivals, all under 200 ERS, so any score that joins the board ranks above them. Your best score then stays on the board until someone beats it.
| Rank | Reader | Score |
|---|
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Questions about the leaderboard
Is there an official world record for speed reading?
There is no widely accepted one. Claims of thousands of words per minute come from demonstrations without independent, controlled comprehension testing. Research reviewed by Rayner et al. (2016) finds that reading much faster than about 400–500 WPM involves skimming, with comprehension dropping as speed rises. On this leaderboard, 680 ERS is SpeedReadTest’s own upper threshold for accepting scores, not a scientific limit.
What about claims of reading 25,000 words per minute?
Claims like this have circulated for decades, including in record-book listings, but they were not backed by controlled comprehension tests. At 25,000 WPM a reader would have well under a second per page, too little time to look at most of the words. Figures like this describe page-scanning, not reading.
How do I submit my score to the global leaderboard?
Take the free reading speed test. If you get at least 3 of the 4 questions right (75%), score 200 ERS or more and beat today’s top score or the all-time top score, a form appears on your results where you can pick a nickname and add your score. Nothing else is needed: no account or email.
Why does the leaderboard rank by ERS instead of raw WPM?
Because speed only matters if you understood the text. ERS is your reading speed multiplied by the share of questions you got right. Reading 1,000 WPM with 20% correct gives 200 ERS, about the same as reading 250 WPM with 80% correct.