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Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar

By Brainstorm Force

Content Management / Blog & Article Publishing

Reviewed by Abdul Hameid

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

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

6.98/10

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, competing with several similar plugins that provide reading time estimation and progress indicators.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Simple and practical implementation
Includes both reading time and progress bar
Easy to use and intuitive setup
Lightweight with minimal configuration needed

Weaknesses

Reading time calculation can be inaccurate
Does not count words in custom fields or blocks
Lacks dynamic translation support for some text
Limited customization options compared to some alternatives

User Sentiment Analysis

With a strong majority of 5-star ratings, users appreciate the plugin's simplicity and effectiveness, though a small portion report issues with the reading time accuracy.

Positive highlights

"Such a good plugin! Simple, practical and useful!" — aethronos
"Excellent little plugin. The features make it usable for most websites." — imeco
"Perfect for purpose. It just works." — Jmarc
"Works out of the box!" — tampopo1969

Common complaints

Reading time always shows as 1 minute regardless of content length

Weaknesses

Reading time feature is unreliable for some users
Does not count words in custom fields or blocks
Limited support for dynamic text translation

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users seeking a simple, lightweight plugin to display reading time and progress bar without complex setup.

Not ideal for

Those needing highly accurate reading time calculations, support for custom fields, or advanced customization options.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version includes reading time estimation and a progress bar feature with basic customization.

Final Verdict

Read Meter is a well-received plugin praised for its simplicity and ease of use, providing essential reading time and progress bar features effectively. It stands out for users who want a straightforward solution without extra complexity or cost.

However, the plugin's reading time accuracy issues and limited support for custom content fields may deter users needing precise metrics or advanced customization. Alternatives may better serve those with such requirements.