Title: ZeroBloat Reading Time
Author: the tree
Published: <strong>April 20, 2026</strong>
Last modified: April 20, 2026

---

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![](https://s.w.org/plugins/geopattern-icon/zerobloat-reading-time.svg)

# ZeroBloat Reading Time

 By [the tree](https://profiles.wordpress.org/muradt20/)

[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/zerobloat-reading-time.1.0.0.zip)

 * [Details](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/zerobloat-reading-time/#description)
 * [Reviews](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/zerobloat-reading-time/#reviews)
 *  [Installation](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/zerobloat-reading-time/#installation)
 * [Development](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/zerobloat-reading-time/#developers)

 [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/zerobloat-reading-time/)

## Description

**ZeroBloat Reading Time** does one thing: shows how long it takes to read your 
post.

No settings page. No database entries. No JavaScript. No CSS files. No bloat.

Just install, activate, done.

#### Features

 * Automatically displays “X min read” before post content
 * Works out of the box — zero configuration
 * Shortcode `[reading_time]` for custom placement
 * Translation-ready
 * Less than 5KB total plugin size
 * No external dependencies
 * No tracking or analytics
 * No upsells or pro version

#### Usage

**Automatic:** Just activate the plugin. Reading time appears on all posts.

**Shortcode:** Use `[reading_time]` anywhere in your content or theme.

**With specific post:** Use `[reading_time id="123"]` to show reading time for a
specific post.

#### Styling

The plugin adds minimal CSS. To customize, target `.mrt-reading-time` in your theme:

    ```
    .mrt-reading-time {
        color: #999;
        font-style: italic;
    }
    ```

## Installation

 1. Upload the `zerobloat-reading-time` folder to `/wp-content/plugins/`
 2. Activate through the ‘Plugins’ menu
 3. Done. No configuration needed.

## FAQ

### Where are the settings?

There are none. The plugin uses sensible defaults (200 words per minute). If you
need customization, this plugin isn’t for you.

### Can I change the reading speed?

Not through a UI. The plugin is intentionally minimal. Developers can use the filter:

    ```
    add_filter( 'mrt_words_per_minute', function() {
        return 250;
    });
    ```

### Can I hide the reading time on certain posts?

Add this to your theme’s functions.php:

    ```
    add_filter( 'the_content', function( $content ) {
        if ( get_the_ID() === 123 ) {
            remove_filter( 'the_content', 'mrt_display_reading_time' );
        }
        return $content;
    }, 9 );
    ```

### Does it work with custom post types?

By default, it only shows on posts. Developers can extend this with a filter.

### Why no settings page?

Because you don’t need one. Reading time is simple math. The defaults work for 99%
of sites.

## Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

## Contributors & Developers

“ZeroBloat Reading Time” is open source software. The following people have contributed
to this plugin.

Contributors

 *   [ the tree ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/muradt20/)

[Translate “ZeroBloat Reading Time” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/zerobloat-reading-time)

### Interested in development?

[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/zerobloat-reading-time/),
check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/zerobloat-reading-time/),
or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/zerobloat-reading-time/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/zerobloat-reading-time/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).

## Changelog

#### 1.0.0

 * Initial release

## Meta

 *  Version **1.0.0**
 *  Last updated **4 weeks ago**
 *  Active installations **Fewer than 10**
 *  WordPress version ** 5.0 or higher **
 *  Tested up to **6.9.4**
 *  PHP version ** 7.4 or higher **
 *  Language
 * [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/zerobloat-reading-time/)
 * Tags
 * [lightweight](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/lightweight/)[read time](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/read-time/)
   [reading time](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/reading-time/)[simple](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/simple/)
   [zerobloat](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/zerobloat/)
 *  [Advanced View](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/zerobloat-reading-time/advanced/)

## Ratings

No reviews have been submitted yet.

[Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/zerobloat-reading-time/reviews/#new-post)

[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/zerobloat-reading-time/reviews/)

## Contributors

 *   [ the tree ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/muradt20/)

## Support

Got something to say? Need help?

 [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/zerobloat-reading-time/)