How to use the word counter
- Type or paste your text into the editor.
- Watch the word, character, sentence and paragraph counts update live.
- Check reading and speaking time and your most used words.
- Change case or copy your text with one click.
Count everything that matters
Essays, cover letters, product descriptions, social posts and meta descriptions all come with limits. This word counter shows every number you might be asked for, live, as you write:
- Words and characters (with and without spaces)
- Sentences, paragraphs and lines
- Reading time and speaking time
- Average word length
- Most used words, with stop words like “the” and “and” filtered out
Common length limits
| Where | Typical limit |
|---|---|
| Google meta description | ~150–160 characters |
| Page title (SEO) | ~50–60 characters |
| X (Twitter) post | 280 characters |
| LinkedIn post | 3,000 characters |
| College application essay | 250–650 words |
| Abstract (academic) | 150–300 words |
How counting works
Words are matched as runs of letters or digits, with internal apostrophes and hyphens kept together, so it’s, e-mail and 2026 each count once. Sentences end at ., !, ? or …. Paragraphs are separated by a blank line.
Because every tool uses slightly different rules, counts can differ by a word or two from a word processor, mostly around hyphenated words, numbers with punctuation and URLs.
Use word frequency to write better
The most used words panel helps you spot repetition. If one word makes up more than 2–3% of a long piece, try a synonym or restructure the sentence. For SEO copy it also shows whether your main topic actually appears in the text.
Related tools
Need filler text to test a layout? Use the lorem ipsum generator. Need the same line many times? Try the text repeater.
Frequently asked questions
How does the word counter count words?
A word is any run of letters or numbers, including words joined by an apostrophe or hyphen such as "don't" or "well-known", which count as one word. Punctuation and symbols on their own are not counted.
Are spaces counted as characters?
The "Characters" total includes spaces, line breaks and punctuation. "No spaces" excludes all whitespace, which is what many submission forms and some publishers mean by character count.
Is my text uploaded anywhere?
No. Counting happens entirely in your browser. Your text is only kept in this tab's session storage so it survives a page refresh, and it is cleared when you close the tab.
How is reading time estimated?
Reading time assumes 238 words per minute, the average silent reading speed for adult non-fiction. Speaking time assumes 150 words per minute, a comfortable presentation pace.
Does it work with languages other than English?
Yes, for languages that separate words with spaces, including accented Latin, Cyrillic, Greek, Arabic and Hindi scripts. Languages written without spaces, such as Chinese or Japanese, are counted by run rather than by word.