How long does it take to read The Great Gatsby?
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is 48,346 words long. At an average reading speed of 250 words per minute, it takes about 3 hours 13 minutes to read — a normal-length novel.
Reading time at your speed
Reading speed varies more than most people expect — the gap between a slow and a fast reader is more than double. Find your row, or take the reading speed test to get your real number first.
| Reading speed | Words per minute | Time to finish |
|---|---|---|
| Slowcareful reading, or reading in a second language | 150 wpm | 5 hours 22 minutes |
| Below averageunhurried, easily distracted, or a dense text | 200 wpm | 4 hours 2 minutes |
| Averagewhat most adults read at | 250 wpm | 3 hours 13 minutes |
| Fasta confident, practised reader | 325 wpm | 2 hours 29 minutes |
| Very fastskimming, or very familiar material | 400 wpm | 2 hours 1 minute |
These times assume you read English comfortably. Dense prose and period vocabulary slow most readers down, so if this is your first classic in English, plan for noticeably longer than the table says.
How long if you read a bit each day?
Almost nobody reads a novel in one sitting. Here is how The Great Gatsby breaks down at an average 250 wpm, depending on how much time you give it each day.
| Reading a day | Days to finish | That is |
|---|---|---|
| 10 minutes | 20 days | about 3 weeks |
| 15 minutes | 13 days | about a week |
| 30 minutes | 7 days | about a week |
| 60 minutes | 4 days | 4 days |
How long is each chapter?
The Great Gatsby has 9 chapters, averaging 5,372 words — about 21m each. The longest is Chapter 7 at 35m; the shortest is Chapter 6 at 16m. Useful if you read a chapter a night.
Chapter times at 250 wpm.
Start The Great Gatsby today
180 pages, level B2-C1. Free on the 12-month plan, with a reading tracker, tap-to-translate vocabulary and a short quiz.
Common questions
How long does it take to read The Great Gatsby?
The Great Gatsby is 48,346 words long. At an average adult reading speed of 250 words per minute that is about 3 hours 13 minutes. A slower reader at 150 wpm needs around 5 hours 22 minutes; a fast reader at 400 wpm finishes in roughly 2 hours 1 minute.
How many words is The Great Gatsby?
The Great Gatsby is 48,346 words across 9 chapters, which is a normal-length novel. Of the 26 classics on readClassicly, 15 are longer and 10 are shorter.
Can I read The Great Gatsby in a day?
It is possible, but it would take most of a day. At 250 wpm The Great Gatsby runs to about 3 hours 13 minutes of continuous reading. Spread over 4 days at an hour a day it is far more comfortable.
Is The Great Gatsby hard to read?
At CEFR level B2-C1, The Great Gatsby is moderately challenging, best suited to strong B2 to C1 readers. You can read it free at readClassicly and tap any word you don't know to look it up, which keeps a harder classic from stalling you.
Reading a classic to learn English?
readClassicly has a free plan for English reading for beginners: graded classic stories with tap-to-define words, audio, and a short quiz after each one. Start at your level and build up to full books like this one. If you are just starting, begin with the short English stories for beginners.