# Speed Reader

> An extension to help you read faster and more thoroughly.

Canonical page: [https://chrome-stats.com/d/speed-reader](https://chrome-stats.com/d/speed-reader)

## Overview

- **ID:** `speed-reader`
- **Platform:** Firefox
- **Type:** Firefox add-on
- **Status:** Available
- **Publisher:** fs
- **Category:** other
- **Daily users:** 1,156
- **Weekly downloads:** 20
- **Rating:** 4.50 / 5 (18 ratings)
- **Version:** 1.6
- **Last updated:** 2025-05-23
- **First published:** 2020-12-19
- **Size:** 31 KB
- **Data as of:** 2026-09-07
- **Store listing:** [Firefox Add-ons Store](https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/speed-reader/)

## Description

Speed Reader is a powerful Chrome extension designed to enhance your reading speed and comprehension effortlessly. Simply select any text on a webpage and activate the extension to start speed-reading instantly. 

Control the reading experience with intuitive hotkeys: use the spacebar to pause, arrow keys to adjust speed, and navigate through the text easily. Customize visual aspects like font size, color, and speed settings to fit your personal preferences, making reading faster and more enjoyable. Perfect for students, professionals, and anyone looking to improve their reading efficiency.

## Rankings

- #3,057 — Overall
- #20 — speed
- #31 — reader
- #39 — spend
- #60 — header
- #87 — lead

## Permissions and access

### Permissions

- `contextMenus`
- `activeTab`
- `storage`
- `scripting`

## Safety

- **Risk impact:** Very low risk impact
- **Risk likelihood:** Low risk likelihood

### Analysis details

- This extension has low user count. Unpopular extensions may not be stable or safe.

> Some risk analysis details are omitted from this free response. [Upgrade to view the full analysis](https://chrome-stats.com/pricing).

## Review summary

Users praise Speed Reader for strong customization (including word-count per view) and a comfortable, fast reading experience on supported sites, plus a visually pleasant dark theme with highlighted text. It’s seen as a solid option among speed-reading extensions, comparable to SwiftRead. However, compatibility gaps on certain sites, limited keyboard/navigation controls, and a lack of persistent speed settings are common drawbacks. Some want audio/TTS and better handling of local PDFs.

### Pros

- Highly customizable, including the ability to choose how many words are shown at once.
- Strong reading experience on supported sites with fast performance.
- Visually pleasant with a dark theme and highlighted letters aiding readability.
- Competitive with similar extensions (e.g., SwiftRead) and well-suited for speed-reading.

### Cons

- Not working on some websites / compatibility issues.
- Keyboard controls are not configurable and there is no convenient on-screen navigation or right-click trigger.
- Speed setting does not persist between uses.
- Lacks many features / customization options and feels limited compared to alternatives.
- Limited support for local PDFs and absence of audio/TTS options.

## Similar extensions and apps

- [Speed Reading Mode](https://chrome-stats.com/d/speed-reading-modeok) — 5 users, 4.00 / 5
- [SwiftRead Lite](https://chrome-stats.com/d/swiftread-lite) — 24 users, 5.00 / 5
- [Yet Another Speed Reader](https://chrome-stats.com/d/yet-another-speed-reader) — 3 users
- [RocketRead](https://chrome-stats.com/d/rocketread) — 1 users
- [Reading Speed Test](https://chrome-stats.com/d/reading-speed-test) — 9 users, 3.20 / 5
- [Speed Reader](https://chrome-stats.com/d/speed_reader) — 33 users
- [HotGato Speed Reader](https://chrome-stats.com/d/hotgato-speed-reader) — 31 users
- [SpeedRead RSVP – Fast Reading & Focus Tool](https://chrome-stats.com/d/speedread-rsvp) — 111 users, 4.00 / 5
- [German Speed reader New Tab](https://chrome-stats.com/d/german-speed-reader-new-tab)
- [Focus in Read](https://chrome-stats.com/d/focus-in-read) — 3 users
- [Scroll Ease](https://chrome-stats.com/d/scroll-ease) — 21 users, 5.00 / 5
- [RSVP Reader — Speed Reader](https://chrome-stats.com/d/rsvp-reader-speed-reader) — 17 users

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Source: [Chrome-Stats](https://chrome-stats.com/d/speed-reader)