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Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar

By Brainstorm Force

Content Management / Blog & Article Publishing

Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar Review - In-Depth Analysis

The Read Meter plugin displays the estimated reading time for blog posts along with a progress bar. It helps engage readers by showing how much time they need to finish reading.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.78/10

User Rating

4.5/5 (based on 19+ reviews)

Active Installations

10,000+

Update Frequency

Below Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

1 / 10 (Very Low Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

People often skip reading posts with the fear of the time they’ll spend reading it. Are you losing readers too?

The Read Meter plugin displays the estimated reading time for blog posts along with a progress bar. It works great to give visitors a quick idea about the time needed to read a post and encourages them to go on till the end.

Usually, visitors try to scan the entire post at first glance and grasp as much information possible from the post. Reading time specified in minutes motivates users to read the post.

A handy progress bar will show the reader’s position on the post. As the reader scrolls the page, the progress bar indicates the remaining part of the post. This lets readers know how far have they reached and how much more do they have to go on.

The plugin uses an advanced image time calculation technique. In case your post contains images, the plugin calculates the time to view those images as well. It adds 12 seconds for the first image, 11 seconds for the second image and so on till the 10th image. After that, it adds 3 seconds for each further image.

Here are some key features of the plugin:

A simple shortcode allows you to add read time anywhere on the site.
Display reading time of a particular post/page irrespective of where the shortcode is added.
Calculate the read time for the most recent version of the post.
Choose to display the read time and a progress bar on various post types.
Decide whether to include images and comments in the read time and progress bar.

Specific controls for Reading Time include:

Display the read time on a blog/archive page or single post page.
Show the estimated time it takes to read any blog/archive page or single post page.
Set the read time position.
Set a read time Prefix and Postfix.
Use various read time styling options.

Specific controls for Progress Bar include:

Set a progress bar position.
Use various progress bar styling options.

Comparing to Alternatives

Read Meter offers a straightforward reading time and progress bar feature, standing out for its simplicity among similar plugins.

Top alternatives

Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar

Strengths

Simple and easy to use with minimal setup.
Includes both reading time estimate and progress bar.
Lightweight and practical for most websites.

Weaknesses

Reading time calculation can be inaccurate, often showing 1 minute.
Does not account for custom fields or blocks in word count.
Limited customization options for text and display.
No dynamic translation support out of the box.

User Sentiment Analysis

User feedback highlights the plugin's ease of use and practical features, though some issues persist.

Positive highlights

'Simple, practical and useful!' - aethronos
'Excellent little plugin with usable features' - imeco
'Perfect for purpose, works out of the box' - Jmarc and tampopo1969
'Progress Bar is Cool' - steveoh88

Common complaints

Reading time often stuck at 1 minute regardless of content length.
Does not count words in custom fields or blocks.
Lack of dynamic translation support for reading time text.
Limited support responsiveness to reported issues.

Weaknesses

Inaccurate reading time calculation.
No support for custom content areas in word count.
Translation challenges with popular plugins like TranslatePress.
Limited feature set compared to more advanced alternatives.

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users seeking a simple, no-fuss reading time and progress bar plugin that works immediately with standard posts.

Not ideal for

Those needing precise reading time calculations, support for custom content, or advanced customization and translation options.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version provides basic reading time estimation and a progress bar, suitable for most standard WordPress posts and pages.

Final Verdict

Read Meter is a straightforward and lightweight plugin that delivers essential reading time and progress bar features with minimal setup.

However, users requiring accurate reading time calculations, support for custom content, or advanced customization may find it lacking and should consider alternatives.