Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs instantly as you type.
Reading time is estimated at 200 words per minute. Everything here runs in your browser — your text is never sent anywhere.
Who uses a word counter, and whyUse cases
Word counts matter most when someone else is enforcing a limit. Students checking an essay against a professor's 1,500-word cap, freelance writers billing by the word, and social media managers trimming a caption to fit Instagram's or LinkedIn's cutoff all need a fast, accurate count without opening a full word processor.
SEO content writers use it differently — to check that a blog post or product description hits a target length before publishing, since very short pages tend to underperform for competitive keywords. Meta description writers use the character count specifically, since Google truncates descriptions past roughly 155–160 characters in search results.
Because everything runs live as you type, it also works well as a writing-pace tool: watching the reading-time estimate update helps you judge whether an introduction is dragging on before a reader would realistically get to the point.
Word Counter — FAQ
How is the word count calculated?
The tool splits your text on whitespace (spaces, tabs, line breaks) and counts the resulting chunks. This matches how most word processors count words, including hyphenated words as one word and contractions as one word.
What reading speed does the reading-time estimate use?
We use 200 words per minute, a commonly cited average adult silent-reading speed. If you read faster or slower than that, treat the estimate as a rough guide rather than an exact figure.
How are sentences and paragraphs counted?
Sentences are counted by looking for periods, question marks, or exclamation points followed by a space or the end of the text. Paragraphs are counted as blocks of text separated by a line break, so make sure you press Enter between paragraphs for an accurate count.
Is my text saved or sent anywhere?
No. All counting happens directly in your browser using JavaScript. Nothing you type is transmitted to a server or stored after you close or refresh the page.