Three conversions writers and readers actually need: how many pages a word count becomes, how long a book takes to read, and how long it takes to listen to. All three are estimates with real variance, and the assumptions are stated below rather than hidden.
Words to pages, reading time and audiobook length
The assumptions, stated
Words per page. A double-spaced manuscript page in 12-point Times is about 250 words, which is the figure publishers use for submissions. A printed paperback runs 300 to 350 depending on trim size and type, and a densely set hardcover can pass 400. Any of these can be off by fifteen percent for a book with lots of dialogue, chapter breaks or white space, because those consume pages without consuming words.
Reading speed. The default of 240 words per minute is near the middle of the typical adult range for prose. If you do not know yours, the reading speed test measures it in about three minutes.
Narration speed. Audiobooks are narrated at roughly 150 words per minute, which is deliberately slower than silent reading because the listener cannot re-read a sentence. That figure is why an audiobook almost always takes longer than reading the same book, even at 1.5×.
What this is useful for
Writers use the first number to sanity-check a manuscript against genre expectations. Readers use the second to decide whether a book fits the gap they have. And the third settles the recurring argument about whether an audiobook at double speed is faster than reading, which it usually is not by as much as people expect.
For the argument that the honest unit is a page rather than a book, see what a daily reader is and books you can read in five minutes a day. Our own 365 Daily Reads series is built on exactly that arithmetic: about 350 words a day, 365 days, one year.
Common questions
How many pages is 80,000 words?
About 320 pages as a double-spaced manuscript, or roughly 265 in a standard paperback setting at 300 words per page. Dialogue-heavy books run longer in pages for the same word count, because white space consumes pages without consuming words.
How many words are on a page of a book?
About 250 on a double-spaced manuscript page, 300 to 350 in a typical paperback, and up to 400 in a densely set hardcover. Trim size, type size and leading move the figure more than anything else.
How long does it take to read a book?
Divide the word count by your reading speed. At a typical 240 words per minute, an 80,000-word novel takes a little over five and a half hours of actual reading — which is why the honest obstacle is rarely time and usually regularity.
How long is an audiobook for a given word count?
Roughly the word count divided by 150, since narration runs near 150 words per minute — slower than silent reading, because a listener cannot re-read a sentence. An 80,000-word book is about nine hours unabridged.
Is listening at 2x faster than reading?
Usually not by much. Narration at 150 words per minute doubled is 300, which is above the typical adult reading pace but not dramatically, and comprehension at that speed varies a lot by material and by listener.