How long does it take to read The Great Gatsby?
F. Scott Fitzgerald
At an average reading speed of 250 words a minute, The Great Gatsby takes 3 hours 12 minutes to read. As an audiobook, expect about 5h 10m at 1x.
The Great Gatsby is the shortest book in this study's top 20 and one of the shortest classics anywhere: nine chapters, under 50,000 words. Most readers can finish it in an evening.
Average is about 250 WPM. Measure yours in two minutes and every time on this page recalculates.
How much to read a day
At 250 words a minute, to finish the book:
Have a deadline in mind? The pages-per-day calculator works it out for any date.
How we measured it
Method: counted text. We used the Project Gutenberg text (#64317), chapter one to the last line. The epigraph is excluded.
Part of our study of the 100 most popular books, last checked October 2026. Reading times assume steady reading; editions, translations and your own pace all move them.
See how long it really takes you
Log it in Parch as you read. It tracks your pages, sessions and streak, so you'll know your real pace, and how long the next one will take.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to read The Great Gatsby?
About 3h 12m at an average reading speed of 250 words a minute: 4h at 200 and 2h 40m at 300.
How many words are in The Great Gatsby?
48,049 words.
How many pages a day to finish The Great Gatsby in a month?
About 6 pages a day, or 7m of reading a day at an average pace. That assumes about 175 pages at 275 words a page; real page counts vary by edition.
Can you read The Great Gatsby in one day?
Yes. At an average pace it's a little over three hours; at 300 words a minute, under three.
How many pages is The Great Gatsby?
About 180 in a typical paperback. Page counts vary by edition; the word count doesn't.