Article Read Time Lite – WordPress plugin for displaying total reading time and progress bar
Calculate and display total reading time| Calculate and display Characters and Words | Progress Bar
Solid choice
Article Read Time Lite is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 20+ sites and was last updated 1 week ago, and scores 67/100 on our health check.
- Actively developed — last update 1 week ago
- Tested with the latest WordPress (7.1)
- Small user base (20+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Article Read Time Lite stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| characters count | #84 |
| progress bar | >100 |
| read time | #35 |
| reading time | #35 |
| word count | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
About Article Read Time Lite
From the official readme · v1.0.3Description
As the name explains, Article Read Time Lite is a free WordPress plugin which calculates the estimated reading time required to read the article in your site
and presents them in a beautiful manner with our available Paragraph and Block Templates. Currently there are all together 4 Beautiful Pre Designed
templates from which you can choose any as per your desire.
See Article Read Time Lite features list below:
- 2 Pre Designed Paragraph Templates
- 2 Pre Designed Block Templates
- Enable/Disable Article Read Time in Posts/Page or any other post types
- Enable/Disable Progress Bar in Posts/Pages or any other Post Types
- Display Word, Characters and Reading Time
- Display Article Read Time before content and after content
- Customize Text as per your need
- Layout customization options available for Progress Bar
- All device friendly and browser Compatibility
- Mobile Responsive
- Translation Ready
Check Article Read Time Premium Features
- Article Read Time in Posts/Page or any other Post Types
- Progress Bar in Posts/Pages or any other Post Types
- 10 Pre designed Paragraph Templates
- 10 Pre designed Block Templates
- And many more …
Check all premium features here
Installation
- Upload the plugin files to the
/wp-content/plugins/article-read-time-litedirectory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly. - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ screen in WordPress
- Use the Article Read Time Lite settings page to configure the plugin
Frequently asked questions
Where I can display the article read time in frontend ?
You can choose the option to display above the content, below the content or in both section.
How is the reading time calculated?
You can configure the word per minute in backend with which our plugin calculates as per the words available in the post content.
Can I enable progress bar?
Yes our plugin has the progress bar option too.
Do I need to design the article read time?
Our plugin already have 4 pre designed templates from which you can choose one.
Changelog
There is a new version available for the plugin. Please update to get the latest update and bug fixes for this plugin.
1.0.3
- Added option to include comment and image reading time
1.0.2
- WP 6.5 Compatibility Check
1.0.1
- WP 6.1 Compatibility Check
1.0.1
- WP 6.0 Compatibility Check
1.0.0
- Initial Release
Screenshots
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
FAQ
Article Read Time Lite: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 7, 2026
Is Article Read Time Lite free?
Yes. Article Read Time Lite is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Article Read Time Lite safe to use in 2026?
Article Read Time Lite is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 20+ sites and was last updated 1 week ago, and scores 67/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Article Read Time Lite?
Article Read Time Lite is active on 20+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 2,281 times since it launched in March 2022. It was downloaded 127 times in the last 30 days.
Does Article Read Time Lite work with WordPress 7.1?
Yes. The developer has tested Article Read Time Lite up to WordPress 7.1.3, the latest release. It requires WordPress 5.5 or newer.
What PHP version does Article Read Time Lite need?
Article Read Time Lite requires PHP 7.2 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Article Read Time Lite last updated?
The latest version, 1.0.3, was released on September 28, 2026 (1 week ago).
Who makes Article Read Time Lite?
Article Read Time Lite is developed and maintained by WP Shuffle.
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