Best read time plugins for WordPress
The most popular read time plugins for WordPress in November 2026, in WordPress.org’s own popular order, which follows active installs. Booster Extension leads with 6K+ active installs, ahead of MinuteRead (20+) and Article Read Time Lite (20+). All 18 plugins tagged “read time” are below, with figures from WordPress.org that update every day.
Installs aren’t everything: a recent release, a “Tested up to” that matches the current WordPress, and support threads that get resolved show a plugin is looked after. Open any plugin for its downloads, rank history and alternatives.
Research this niche or see all plugins.
Top 10 read time plugins
- 1.
Booster ExtensionThe most installed read time plugin, with 6K+ active installs. Rated 4.4 from 7 reviews, last updated 2 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 6.5.14.
- 2.
MinuteRead20+ active installs. Only 1 review so far, updated 2 months ago.
- 3.
Article Read Time Lite20+ active installs. No reviews yet, updated 1 month ago.
- 4.
Readlyte10+ active installs. No reviews yet, updated 1 month ago.
- 5.Mins To Read
10+ active installs. Only 2 reviews so far, last updated 8 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 4.9.35.
- 6.Calc Read Time
10+ active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 10 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 4.7.39.
- 7.
Reading Time by ReadyGo10+ active installs. No reviews yet, updated 2 months ago.
- 8.
ReadMetricFewer than 10 active installs. No reviews yet, updated 2 months ago.
- 9.MOKA Word-Count
Fewer than 10 active installs. Only 1 review so far, last updated 4 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 5.9.20.
- 10.ZeroBloat Reading Time
Fewer than 10 active installs. No reviews yet, updated 6 months ago. Tested only up to WordPress 6.9.11.
All 18 plugins tagged “read time”

Booster Extension
Up in the last 7 days:1#2,757by themeinwp2 years ago
Booster Extension is a free WordPress plugin that supercharges your site with awesome powerful features. There’re numerous plugins in the official Wor …
- Installs
- 6K+
- Rating
- 4.4(7)
- Downloads
- 26/day

MinuteRead
Up in the last 7 days:565#26,026by Md Asadujjaman Sabuj2 months ago
Show estimated reading time on posts, pages, and custom post types. Customize label, format, position, and reading speed.
- Installs
- 20+
- Rating
- 5.0(1)
- Downloads
- 0/day

Article Read Time Lite
Down in the last 7 days:839#26,356by WP Shuffle1 month ago
Calculate and display total reading time| Calculate and display Characters and Words | Progress Bar
- Installs
- 20+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day

Readlyte
#31,755by munizasultan1 month ago
Automatically calculates and displays estimated reading time for blog posts, with a shortcode, a Gutenberg block, and an Elementor widget.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Mins To Read
Up in the last 7 days:365#32,389by Think2018 years ago
Displays read time of your blog post.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- 5.0(2)
- Downloads
- 0/day
Calc Read Time
Down in the last 7 days:1,596#40,576by avastava10 years ago
Calc read time shows estimated read time near titles on post pages. Gives the reader a rough estimate of the time spend on reading the article.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day

Reading Time by ReadyGo
Up in the last 7 days:1,089#42,628by mkbplatinum2 months ago
Estimated reading time with a progress bar and live countdown. Fast, lightweight and accurate — works with page builders and caching.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day

ReadMetric
Up in the last 7 days:14,642#57,343by Italiya Harshil2 months ago
Automatically calculates and displays estimated reading time for posts, pages, and custom post types.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
MOKA Word-Count
Up in the last 7 days:5,285#57,982by Mohamed Yaghi4 years ago
Count the words and letters of WordPress articles, as well as calculate the time needed to read
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- 5.0(1)
- Downloads
- 0/day
ZeroBloat Reading Time
Down in the last 7 days:4,894#61,793by the tree6 months ago
Displays estimated reading time on posts. Lightweight and simple, with zero configuration required.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Fattami Reading Time
Up in the last 7 days:1,374#62,551by Ayoub Fattami1 month ago
Shows an estimated reading time badge on your posts, with Unicode-aware word counting (Arabic, French, CJK) and a simple shortcode.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day

Reading Time & Progress Bar
#62,798by Code Canel1 year ago
The Reading Time & Progress Bar plugin enhances your blog with an estimated reading time and a stylish progress bar.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Easy Reading Progress Bar
Up in the last 7 days:8,031#63,984by Mushlih Almubarak1 year ago
A simple, lightweight, and highly compatible reading progress bar for your WordPress posts.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day

Nuvora Reading Time & Progress Bar
#64,260by Sehrish Anam8 months ago
A minimalist, accessible reading time badge + scroll progress bar. AI-assisted time adjustment, per-post overrides, zero tracking.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- 5.0(1)
- Downloads
- 0/day

Word & Reading Time Counter
Down in the last 7 days:13,264#65,846by Md Rashed Hossain5 years ago
Show your reader how much time they need to read and how many words in a post.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- 5.0(1)
- Downloads
- 0/day

Stuff & Things Reading Estimate
Down in the last 7 days:7,723#69,918by stuffandthingsforyou27 days ago
Show an estimated "X min read" on your posts, and anywhere with the [reading_time] shortcode.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day

Crafton.pl AEO SEO Auditor
#71,759by crafton.pl2 months ago
A secure, 100% local AEO & SEO content auditor meta box for WordPress. Real-time scoring against 5 key search & AI engine criteria.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day

Estimated Reading Time Content
Down in the last 7 days:18,100#74,247by Anton1 year ago
Adds a reading time block to posts and pages, with customizable settings and widget support.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 1/day