Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar
by Brainstorm Force · Uncategorized
Also makes 33 other plugins · 7M+ installs across the portfolio →
The Read Meter plugin displays the estimated reading time for blog posts along with a progress bar.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
A 87/100
no flags
Active installs
10K+
≈19K estimated
Momentum
+16%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Add “estimated time”, “progress” and “estimated” to your wp.org tags. You rank #4, #5 and #6 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 2 listed these are the slots worth spending.
87 health vs 58 average across 25,734 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →8.5%
of downloads still active
At least 10K of 118.1K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,766 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Listing tuning
Updated 68 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.5★ over 19 reviews, smoothed to 4.21★ and held back under 25 reviews
2 of 5 tags set · short description in place
1 of 1 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
To rank higher: Only 2 tags — use the full 5 relevant tags so search matches more queries.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
39
Momentum
Mixed: one swing, the rest drifting
0.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 27d
17%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 27d
+0.1
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| meter | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| readtime your tag | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| read | #2 | #2 | 0 |
| reading time | #2 | #2 | 0 |
| progressbar your tag | #2 | #2 | 0 |
| progress bar | #3 | #4 | 0 |
| estimated read | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| estimated read time | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| read time | #2 | #2 | 0 |
| estimated reading | #3 | #4 | 0 |
| estimated reading time | #3 | #3 | 0 |
| progress | #5 | #8 | up 1 |
| reading | #5 | #7 | 0 |
| reading progress | #3 | #5 | 0 |
| post reading time | #3 | #4 | 0 |
| time to read | #2 | #3 | 0 |
| time to read post | #2 | #5 | up 1 |
| post read time | #2 | #4 | up 1 |
| blog reading time | #2 | #3 | 0 |
| custom progressbar | #2 | #2 | 0 |
75 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 32 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words).
What to do about it
- Add “estimated time”, “progress” and “estimated” to your wp.org tags. You rank #4, #5 and #6 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 2 listed these are the slots worth spending.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 7.7K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
1.3y ago
latest release · v1.0.11 · 10 Jul 2025
12
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “10K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4 years ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 90% of the way through.
Install history since 1 Aug 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ tampopo19691.8y ago
Works out of the box !
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ranmma3.7y ago
The plugin works, but it only counts the words on the blog itself. It does not count words in custom blocks and custom field text
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ steveoh883.9y ago
I really like the progress bar. This plugin is simple, which is good. No matter what, the read time is only 1 minute. I thought of reaching out to support, but then I saw that several people already have and the dev doesn’t seem to have fixed the issue. Could be a great plugin, if the main feature worked. I would also be cool if it had the option to display word count.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Jmarc4.6y ago
Perfect for purpose. I just added a bit a margin below to separate it better from the start of the text and presto! It just works. Thanks!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ imeco4.7y ago
Excellent little plugin. The features make it usable for most websites. The only thing I did not figure out yet is how to dynamically translate the text ‘Reading Time .. mins’ while using TranslatePress. @brainstorm Force: Thanks for making this plugin available.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ aethronos4.7y ago
Simple, practical and useful! Good job with this plugin and thank you.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Dutchintouch5.1y ago
Nice find. I especially like the customizable progress bar. The reading time is correct.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Abu Zar Mishwani5.8y ago
This plugin is just awesome. Worked fine.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 1.0.11 Fix: Updated Readme file. Fix: Updated CSS selector to correctly apply styles to the read meter text. 1.0.11
- — Version 1.0.10 Fix: Improved input handling by updating to a safer and more modern sanitization method. 1.0.10
- — Version 1.0.9 Feature: Added the ID attribute to the [read_meter] shortcode eg: [read_meter id="47"] to show reading time of that particular post/page irrespective of where the shortcode is added. Fix: Reading time using shortcode [re 1.0.9
- — Version 1.0.8 Fix: Page Content Wrap Marker used for progress bar was causing styling issues with non block based themes. Fix: Only added the marker needed for progress bar on the post types selected. 1.0.8
- — Version 1.0.7 Fix: Theme Layout Styles conflict with the Marker div added as a wrapper to the_content. 1.0.7
- — Version 1.0.6 Fix: Hardened the security. 1.0.6
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.8.1
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
4 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "The Read Meter plugin displays the estimated reading time for blog posts along with a progress bar."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 5 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 5 of 5 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 3 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 2,566 characters of description.
- ! Tags match the text Only 0 of 2 tags appear in the text ("progressbar", "readtime" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2022-10-21 9K+ → 10K+ up after 20 days in tier
- 2022-10-01 8K+ → 9K+ up after 30 days in tier
- 2022-09-01 7K+ → 8K+ up after 123 days in tier
- 2022-05-01 6K+ → 7K+ up after 120 days in tier
- 2022-01-01 5K+ → 6K+ up after 153 days in tier
- 2021-08-01 4K+ → 5K+ up after 273 days in tier
- 2020-11-01 3K+ → 4K+ up after 153 days in tier
- 2020-06-01 2K+ → 3K+ up after 101 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
- R Reading Progress Tracker — installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
-
Reading progressbar 6K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A -
WP Reading Progress 3K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
Catch Scroll Progress Bar 1K+ installs · 3.9★ · 1 shared tag B - C Custom progress bar 100+ installs · 4.2★ · 1 shared tag D
- B BSPB ProgressBar by pierre gagliardi 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 1 shared tag
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/read-meter" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar: 10K+ active installs, 4.5★ (19 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/read-meter
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