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Caption Reading Speed Checker

Captions that flash past are the accessibility failure nobody reports and everybody experiences. Check every cue against a target reading speed, ranked worst first, with the duration each one would need to come inside it.

Free · No account · Your files never upload

Drop a caption file, or paste it below

Files are read in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

What this does

Measures how fast each caption asks a viewer to read, in characters per second, and ranks every cue worst first. For anything over your target it also shows the duration that cue would need in order to come inside it.

Why this matters more than it looks

A caption that flashes past is not a technical fault. Nothing errors, nothing fails validation, the file plays perfectly. Some viewers simply cannot finish the line before it disappears. It is the accessibility failure nobody reports and plenty of people experience.

Choosing a target

Fifteen characters per second suits younger audiences, dense material and viewers reading in a second language. Seventeen is a reasonable default for mixed adult audiences. Twenty-one is around the upper limit for experienced adult viewers on familiar subject matter. If your organization has a standard, use that instead.

Fixing what it finds

Two options: give the cue more time, or give it fewer words. Extending only works if the following cue has room, so tightening the wording is usually the more reliable move, and shorter captions read better for everyone, not only for fast readers.

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