Word Counter

Count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs as you type, with reading and speaking time and a top-keywords list. Handles emoji and unspaced scripts; nothing leaves your browser.

About this tool

Word limits show up everywhere: essays, meta descriptions, abstracts, cover letters, social posts, translation quotes. This counter shows words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs and lines as you type, estimates reading and speaking time, and lists your most-used words so you can spot repetition. It counts what a reader would see, including emoji and languages written without spaces, and everything runs in your browser, so a draft or a confidential document is never uploaded.

How to use it

  1. Type or paste your text into the box. The counts update on every keystroke, so there is no button to press.
  2. Read the cards: words, characters, characters without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, lines, reading time and speaking time. The line under them adds unique words and the average word length.
  3. Check the Top keywords table for the words you use most. Leave "Ignore common English words" on to hide words like the, and and of, or turn it off to see every word.
  4. To check part of a document, paste only that section. Click Clear to start again with an empty box.

FAQ

How does it decide what counts as a word?

A word is a run of letters or digits, and a hyphen or apostrophe between two letters keeps it as one word, so well-known and don't each count once. Numbers count as words, and a decimal such as 3.14 is one word. A URL such as example.com/a-b is split at the dot and slash. For Chinese, Japanese and Thai, which are written without spaces, it uses your browser's built-in word segmentation instead.

Why is my count different from Word or Google Docs?

Counters disagree on edge cases: hyphenated compounds, words joined by an em dash, numbers, symbols standing alone, and URLs. A difference of a few words in a long text is normal. If a submission has a hard limit, check the final count in the system that enforces it.

How are characters counted, and how does that differ from string length in code?

It counts characters as a reader sees them, so an emoji with a skin tone, a flag or a family emoji is one character. JavaScript's string length counts UTF-16 code units, so the same emoji can be 2 or more there, and a database or API limit set in bytes counts differently again. If your limit is in bytes or code units, expect a higher number than shown here.

How are sentences and paragraphs counted?

A sentence ends at a period, exclamation mark, question mark or ellipsis followed by whitespace or the end of the text, or at an East Asian full stop, and a line break also ends one, so headings and list items count as sentences. A decimal like 3.14 is not split. Abbreviations such as "e.g. this" can be counted as a break. A paragraph is a block of text separated from the next by a blank line.

How are reading and speaking time calculated?

Reading time assumes 238 words per minute, a commonly cited average for silent reading of non-fiction by adults. Speaking time assumes 130 words per minute, a comfortable pace for a talk or presentation. They are estimates: dense technical text takes longer and a familiar story takes less.

How does the keyword list work?

Words are compared case-insensitively, so The and the count together. Numbers are left out. With "Ignore common English words" on, a built-in list of about 150 function words such as the, and, of and to is skipped. Share is the count divided by the total number of words in the text. The list only knows English stop words, so for other languages turn the option off.

Is my text uploaded anywhere?

No. The counting runs in your browser tab with built-in JavaScript, so drafts, contracts and personal notes never leave your device.

Related tools

Guides & comparisons

← All tools · Text & Data · Blog · Cheat sheets · FAQ