How long does it take to read Sapiens?
Yuval Noah Harari
At an average reading speed of 250 words a minute, Sapiens takes 9 hours 29 minutes to read. The unabridged audiobook runs 15 hours at 1x, or 10 hours at 1.5x.
Yuval Noah Harari's history of humankind is in four parts, from the Cognitive Revolution to the Scientific Revolution, and each works as a sitting or two. It's almost three times the length of Atomic Habits.
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: audiobook estimate. Estimated from Derek Perkins's unabridged recording (15:18, confirmed by Libro.fm) at 155 words a minute.
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 Sapiens?
About 9h 29m at an average reading speed of 250 words a minute: 12 hours at 200 and 7h 54m at 300.
How many words are in Sapiens?
About 142,290 words. That's estimated from the unabridged audiobook at a narration pace of 155 words a minute, so treat it as close, not exact.
How many pages a day to finish Sapiens in a month?
About 18 pages a day, or 19m of reading a day at an average pace. That assumes about 517 pages at 275 words a page; real page counts vary by edition.
How long is the Sapiens audiobook?
15 hours 18 minutes, narrated by Derek Perkins. At 1.5x, about 10 hours.
How many parts does Sapiens have?
Four: the Cognitive Revolution, the Agricultural Revolution, the Unification of Humankind and the Scientific Revolution.