How long does it take to read The Trial?

About 4 h 57 min at 260 words per minute, assuming 275 words per page. At 30 minutes a day that is 10 days.

How many words is The Trial?

Roughly 77,000 words, estimated from the median page count at 275 words per page. Open Library does not record word counts, so this is an estimate.

Book · by Franz Kafka

How many pages is The Trial?

The Trial by Franz Kafka has a median of 281 pages across 81 English-language print editions with a recorded page count; the middle half of editions run 225 to 336 pages.

Median pages

281

81 editions counted

Range

140–454

shortest to longest edition

Reading time

5.0h

at 260 wpm (fiction average)

Words (est.)

77k

at 275 words per page

How long will The Trial take you?

Starts at the fiction average of 260 words per minute and 275 words per page. Move the slider to your own speed.

Reading speed 260 wpm

Page density

Reading time

4 h 57 min

At 30 min a day

10 days

At 1 hour a day

5 days

Page count of every edition, by year

Each dot is one English-language print edition. Shaded: middle half of editions. Line: median.

Open Library edition records (2026-09-30 dump). 2 editions without a publication year not plotted.

Pages by format

Hardcover, paperback and mass-market editions are typeset differently, so the same text can run to more or fewer pages.

Format	Median pages	Editions	Reading time
Hardcover	320	4	5 h 38 min
Paperback	267	12	4 h 42 min

Editions counted

The 81 editions behind the figures above, newest first. 4 more editions were set aside because the page count was less than half or more than 2.2 times the median, which usually means an abridged text, an omnibus, or a typing error. Open Library lists 783 editions of this work in all languages and formats.

Year	Publisher	Format	Pages	Open Library
2021	Independently Published	–	233	OL34282926M
2021	Independently Published	–	244	OL34285281M
2021	Independently Published	–	305	OL34290762M
2021	Independently Published	–	233	OL34348083M
2021	Legend Press	–	288	OL29481529M
2021	Legend Press	–	288	OL29481512M
2021	Independently Published	–	244	OL34287986M
2021	Independently Published	–	340	OL34123490M
2020	Independently Published	–	225	OL30074307M
2020	Arcturus Publishing	–	208	OL29827897M
2019	Penguin Books, Limited	–	208	OL28716993M
2018	Alma Classics	–	224	OL29368386M
2017	CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform	–	194	OL54752023M
2015	CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform	–	196	OL54907884M
2015	Penguin Books, Limited	–	208	OL28572740M
2011	Tribeca Books	–	158	OL32379610M
2010	Penguin Books, Limited	–	178	OL28458986M
2010	Timeless Books	–	142	OL54553780M
2007	Echo Library	Paperback	140	OL11681718M
2006	Waking Lion Press	Paperback	278	OL9530284M
2006	Waking Lion Press	Paperback	216	OL8904341M
2006	Echo Library	Paperback	420	OL8965230M
2006	ReadHowYouWant.com	Paperback	444	OL9568628M
2006	Echo Library	Paperback	140	OL11916039M
2006	ReadHowYouWant.com	Paperback	424	OL9670723M
2006	ReadHowYouWant.com	Paperback	308	OL9610377M
2006	ReadHowYouWant.com	Paperback	252	OL9650497M
2005	Hesperius Press	–	212	OL22622344M
2005	Vintage Books	Paperback	256	OL9272402M
2002	Vitalis	–	255	OL31883428M
2000	Penguin Books Ltd	–	208	OL7358929M
1999	Vintage	–	256	OL22816409M
1998	Schocken	Hardcover	304	OL7934053M
1998	Schocken Books	–	276	OL344480M
1995	Schocken Books	–	281	OL1119319M
1992	Everyman's Library	Hardcover	336	OL7698576M
1992	Everyman's Library	Hardcover	352	OL8998459M
1992	Knopf	–	299	OL22932566M
1988	Schocken Books	–	281	OL2402076M
1987	Schocken	Paperback	282	OL7933454M
1987	Picador	Paperback	254	OL10487734M
1983	Buccaneer Books	Library binding	282	OL9341198M
1983	Oxford University Press	–	308	OL44166967M
1978	Franklin Library	–	322	OL4765713M
1977	Franklin Library	–	341	OL4604295M
1977	Pan Books	–	254	OL4287375M
1975	Alfred A. Knopf	–	340	OL21930224M
1975	Limited Editions Club	–	220	OL4937235M
1973	Schocken Books	–	282	OL19089442M
1969	Vintage Books	–	340	OL24222404M
1969	Heinemann (Txt)	–	224	OL7508571M
1968	Secker & Warburg	–	304	OL5716884M
1968	Penguin Books	–	255	OL22333171M
1968	Heron Books [distributor]	–	350	OL37076704M
1968	Schocken Books	–	282	OL23251399M
1968	HERON BOOKS, LONDON	–	342	OL50563326M
1968	Schocken Books	–	282	OL5632981M
1967	Folio Society	–	219	OL22830332M
1967	Folio Society	–	219	OL5575416M
1965	Knopf	–	340	OL19049493M
1965	A.A. Knoff	–	340	OL18603009M
1965	Knopf	–	340	OL22333168M
1964	Knopf	–	340	OL47077387M
1963	Knopf	–	340	OL58838333M
1961	Modern Library	–	340	OL5818578M
1960	Knopf	–	340	OL13538480M
1957	Gallimard	–	454	OL47859070M
1957	Knopf	–	340	OL6226199M
1956	Modern Library	–	340	OL22835418M
1956	Secker and Warburg	–	304	OL6252961M
1956	International Collectors Library	–	246	OL49641943M
1955	A. A. Knopf	–	296	OL53068631M
1953	Penguin Press	–	258	OL46919838M
1950	Secker and Warburg	–	255	OL22604869M
1950	Secker and Warburg	–	255	OL52891275M
1948	Alfred A. Knopf	–	297	OL59854993M
1945	Secker and Warburg	–	199	OL6495358M
1945	Secker and Warburg	–	200	OL22363720M
1937	A. A. Knopf	–	296	OL6358806M
–	Heron Books	–	280	OL13959239M
–	Edito-Service	–	280	OL23123483M

More by Franz Kafka

All 7 books by Franz Kafka with page counts

Questions

How many pages is The Trial?: About 281 pages: that is the median of 81 English-language print editions on Open Library. Editions range from 140 to 454 pages.
How long does it take to read The Trial?: About 4 h 57 min at 260 words per minute, assuming 275 words per page. At 30 minutes a day that is 10 days.
How many words is The Trial?: Roughly 77,000 words, estimated from the median page count at 275 words per page. Open Library does not record word counts, so this is an estimate.

Data: Open Library monthly data dumps (works, editions, authors, reading log, ratings) (Open Library / Internet Archive); How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate (Marc Brysbaert, Journal of Memory and Language 109 (2019)).