Sam Reading Time
Display estimated reading time for your posts using a clean shortcode. Includes a lightweight settings panel under the "Posts" menu.
Solid choice
Sam Reading Time is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 70+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 2 months ago, and scores 66/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (70+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Sam Reading Time stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| estimated reading time | #5 |
| post meta | >100 |
| reading time | #5 |
| shortcode | >100 |
| simple plugin | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
About Sam Reading Time
From the official readme · v2.4Description
Sam Reading Time (SRT) is a lightweight and efficient plugin to show estimated reading time in WordPress posts using the [sam_reading_time] shortcode.
Includes a minimal settings page directly accessible under the “Posts” admin menu.
Features include:
– [sam_reading_time] shortcode for displaying reading time
– Settings panel for WPM (words per minute) speed and output format
– Clean output: “Reading Time: 4 minutes”
– Compatible with all post types
– Easy to use and theme-friendly
– No external dependencies or JS
– SEO & Rich Snippets
– Multilingual Support
Usage
Insert the shortcode anywhere inside your post or page content:
[sam_reading_time]
Or use it in template files like so:
echo do_shortcode('[sam_reading_time]');
Settings can be accessed via Posts > Reading Time Settings, where you can adjust:
- Words-per-minute speed
- Prefix/suffix text around reading time
Credits
Developed by SAM Web Design Agency – https://samwda.ir
License
This plugin is licensed under the GPLv2 or later.
See https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html for details.
Installation
- Upload the plugin folder to the
/wp-content/plugins/directory. - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
- Navigate to
Posts > Reading Time Settingsto customize behavior. - Use
[sam_reading_time]shortcode in posts or pages to show the reading time.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the reading speed?
Yes. You can adjust the WPM value from the settings page. All existing posts will be automatically recalculated upon saving.
Where is the settings page?
Under the WordPress Dashboard menu: Posts > Reading Time Settings.
Can I use it in custom post types?
Yes, as long as they support the_content.
Changelog
This update introduces automatic recalculation of reading times when WPM changes, independent Schema output, and improved SEO plugin compatibility. The plugin is now significantly lighter.
2.4
- Massively lighter codebase: Removed unnecessary comments and optimized logic for a smaller footprint.
- Decoupled Schema.org output from shortcode; now works independently on singular pages.
- Added admin notice warning for potential SEO plugin Schema conflicts (Yoast, RankMath, etc.).
- Changed format variables from %1$s to a more semantic [time] block in settings.
- Added automatic recalculation of reading time meta when WPM setting is updated.
- Excluded non-content post types like Media (attachments) from reading time calculations.
2.3
- Better text parsing for precise reading time estimation and minor bug fixes.
2.2
- Improved performance by storing reading time as post meta instead of calculating on every request.
- Faster and more reliable sorting of reading time column in admin post lists.
- Added proper text domain loading (sam-reading-time) for full translation support.
- More stable and accurate Schema.org timeRequired JSON-LD output.
- Minor UI refinements in admin settings page with a cleaner, more minimal red theme.
- Better handling of translated content for Polylang and WPML.
2.0
- Added admin post list column to display reading time for all post types.
- Added sorting capability for reading time column.
- Accurate reading time calculation excluding code blocks, images, videos, and HTML tags.
- Full support for Custom Post Types (CPT).
- Added Schema.org
timeRequiredJSON-LD markup for SEO Rich Snippets. - Shortcode-aware schema: schema markup only added if [sam_reading_time] is used.
- Full compatibility with Polylang and WPML for translated content.
1.0
- Initial public release with shortcode and settings page.
Screenshots
For developers
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Best Sam Reading Time alternatives
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FAQ
Sam Reading Time: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 12, 2026
Is Sam Reading Time free?
Yes. Sam Reading Time is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Sam Reading Time safe to use in 2026?
Sam Reading Time is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 70+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 2 months ago, and scores 66/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Sam Reading Time?
Sam Reading Time is active on 70+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 1,141 times since it launched in August 2025. It was downloaded 105 times in the last 30 days.
Does Sam Reading Time work with WordPress 7.1?
Sam Reading Time is officially tested up to WordPress 7.0.7, while the latest release is 7.1.3. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does Sam Reading Time need?
Sam Reading Time requires PHP 7.2 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Sam Reading Time last updated?
The latest version, 2.4, was released on August 12, 2026 (2 months ago).
Who makes Sam Reading Time?
Sam Reading Time is developed and maintained by SAM Web Design Agency.
What are the best alternatives to Sam Reading Time?
The most popular alternatives to Sam Reading Time are Worth The Read (3K+ installs), WP Reading Progress (3K+ installs) and LP Estimated Reading Time (50+ installs).
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