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Paste or type your text to count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs. Results update as you type.
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A word is counted as a group of characters separated by spaces or line breaks. Type or paste your text above and the tool updates words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, reading time and speaking time as you type, with no signup needed.
For a typical English draft, 1,000 characters is about 165 to 175 words. Use the exact count from the tool for assignments and platform limits, not an estimate. If you need to change the case of your text after counting it, use the case converter, or translate it with the translator.
A word counter measures a piece of text. It shows how many words and characters the text contains, along with the number of sentences and paragraphs. Writers, students and marketers use it to check that text meets a required length, from a 280-character post to a 2,000-word essay.
Unlike the counter built into a word processor, this one runs in any browser. You can check a draft from your phone or a shared computer without opening a document or installing anything.
The word count treats any group of characters separated by spaces or line breaks as one word. You also get two character totals: one that includes spaces, which is what most platform limits use, and one that leaves spaces out.
Sentences are counted by the punctuation marks . ! and ?, and paragraphs by blank lines between blocks of text. Abbreviations such as "e.g." and numbers such as 3.14 can add to the sentence count, so treat it as a close estimate for text that has many of them.
Reading time is based on 200 words per minute and speaking time on 130 words per minute. These are averages, so technical text or a slower speaker will take longer.
The readability score comes from your average sentence length. Short sentences are usually easier to read, and an average above about 22 words per sentence is marked as difficult. It is a quick guide, not a full grammar or style check.
In typical English text, a word averages about 6 characters including the space after it. These figures are estimates; paste your own text into the tool for an exact count.
| Characters | Approximate words | Where you might need it |
|---|---|---|
| 155 to 160 | 25 to 28 | Google meta description |
| 280 | 45 to 50 | Standard X (Twitter) post |
| 1,000 | 165 to 175 | Short product or profile description |
| 3,000 | About 500 | LinkedIn post limit |
| 5,000 | 830 to 850 | YouTube description limit |
Many platforms limit characters rather than words. These are the common limits at the time of writing. Platforms change them from time to time, so check the platform if an exact limit matters.
Essays and assignments often set a minimum or maximum length. Checking the count while you write is quicker than counting by hand, and it shows you are over the limit before you submit.
Editors set word counts for articles and guest posts, and a counter shows your progress as you draft. It also helps you write titles and meta descriptions that fit within search result limits.
Post and bio limits differ by platform. Checking the character count before you schedule a post avoids captions that get cut off.
Cover letters, executive summaries and proposals often come with length guidelines. A quick count helps you keep them concise. If you need to fix capitalization afterwards, the case converter can switch text between uppercase, lowercase and title case.
Set a word goal above the results to track an essay, blog post, or assignment. The bar fills as you type and tells you how many words are left. The top words panel shows the words you use most, which helps you spot repetition before you publish.
Top words are counted after lowercasing and removing punctuation at the start and end of each word, so Word and word count as the same word. Common short words are included in the count, so use the panel as a repetition check, not as a keyword score.
Typical lengths vary by format, so use these as a guide, not a rule: a short blog post is often 500 to 1,000 words, a standard blog post is often 1,000 to 2,500 words, a school essay is often 500 to 1,000 words, and a social post must fit a character limit rather than a word target. The character limits section on this page gives the exact platform limits to check against.
Reading time on this tool is calculated at 200 words per minute, and speaking time at 130 words per minute. Both update as you type. The readability hint on this tool is a simple sentence length guide: shorter average sentences are labelled easier, and longer average sentences are labelled more difficult. It is not a Flesch Kincaid grade, which needs a syllable count that this tool does not claim to calculate.
Type or paste your text into the box. The word count, character count, sentence count, paragraph count and reading time update automatically as you type, so there is no button to press.
Yes. The word counter is free to use, with no account, signup or download. You can use it as often as you like on any device with a browser.
About 165 to 175 words in typical English text, counting spaces. The exact number depends on how long your words are. Paste your own text into the tool to get the exact figure instead of an estimate.
No. The counting happens in your browser, and the text you type is not uploaded to our server.
No. Words are counted as groups of characters separated by spaces or line breaks. The tool shows two character counts: one that includes spaces and one that leaves them out.
No. Google has said there is no ideal word count for ranking, so length should match what the topic needs. A word counter is still useful for keeping title tags and meta descriptions within display limits and for checking that a page covers its topic in enough depth.
Yes. The page works on iPhone, Android and tablets in any modern browser, with no app to install.
Yes. Type or paste your text, set a word goal, and the top words panel shows your most used words. The goal bar shows how many words you have written and how many are left.
Speaking time is calculated at 130 words per minute, and reading time is calculated at 200 words per minute. Both update as you type.