Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs as you type. See reading time, top keywords and character limits for X, SMS, SEO and more. Free, any language, and your text never leaves your device.
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How to count words, characters and reading time
Type or paste your text into the box and the numbers update as you go: words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs and reading time. Select part of the text to count just that selection. Use the tabs on the right for the full breakdown, the most-used words and phrases, and how your text fits common length limits. Everything is calculated in your browser, so your writing stays on your device.
What exactly is counted
- Words: pieces of text separated by spaces or line breaks that contain at least one letter or digit. A lone dash or symbol is not a word. Chinese, Japanese, Thai and similar scripts are split using the browser’s word segmentation.
- Characters: what you would see as single symbols. An emoji or an accented letter counts once. Line breaks are left out, and you get totals with and without spaces.
- Sentences: detected with a language-aware splitter that knows common abbreviations, so ‘Dr. Smith arrived.’ is one sentence.
- Paragraphs: every non-empty line is a paragraph.
- Reading and speaking time: 238 words per minute for silent reading and 130 for speaking aloud.
Writing to a limit
Students, writers and marketers often have a hard cap. Set a word goal to see a progress bar fill as you write, and open the Limits tab to check an X post, SMS, SEO title, meta description, Instagram caption, LinkedIn post, YouTube title or Google Ads headline. The SMS line also tells you how many message segments you will be charged for, since a single non-Latin character such as Sinhala or an emoji moves the message from 160 to 70 characters per segment.
Using keyword density well
The Keywords tab lists the most frequent words, two-word phrases and three-word phrases, with common filler words hidden by default. Use it to catch a word you repeat too often in an essay, or to check that the topic of an article actually shows up in the text. Search engines do not reward a target percentage, so write for readers first and use the list as a proofreading aid.
Readability for English text
For English text of ten words or more, the Details tab shows a Flesch reading ease score and an approximate school grade level. Short sentences and short words raise the score. Scores in the 60 to 70 range are easy for most adults to read. These formulas are designed for English, so they are not shown for other languages.
Privacy and honest limits
Your text is not uploaded, logged or shared. The optional box to keep your text in this browser saves a copy in your own browser storage so it is still there when you return, and unticking it deletes that copy. Counting rules differ a little between tools and platforms, so if you are close to a strict limit such as a university submission or a paid ad, confirm the final number in the place you will submit it.
Frequently asked questions
Is my text uploaded anywhere?
No. All counting runs in your browser. Your text is never sent to a server. Even the optional ‘keep my text in this browser’ box only stores it on your own device, and you can untick it to delete the saved copy.
How are words counted?
Text is split on spaces and line breaks, and a piece counts as a word if it contains at least one letter or digit. Punctuation on its own, such as a dash or an ellipsis, is not a word. Scripts written without spaces, such as Chinese, Japanese and Thai, are split with your browser’s built-in word segmentation so they are counted sensibly.
What counts as a character?
A character is what you see as one symbol, so an emoji or a letter with an accent counts once, even when the computer stores it as several pieces. Line breaks are not counted. You get two totals: with spaces and without spaces.
Why does another tool show a different number?
Tools disagree on small things: whether hyphenated words are one word or two, whether a bare dash counts, and whether line breaks are characters. Microsoft Word, Google Docs and this page agree on ordinary prose, but can differ by a few on unusual text. If you are working to a strict limit, check against the platform you will submit to.
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time assumes 238 words per minute, the average for adults reading silently in English, and speaking time assumes 130 words per minute, a comfortable pace for a speech or voice-over. Real speed depends on the reader and the material, so use them as a guide.
How do sentences and paragraphs get counted?
Sentences are found with the browser’s language-aware sentence splitter, and common abbreviations such as Mr., Dr. and e.g. do not end a sentence. A paragraph is a block of text on its own line, so every non-empty line counts as one.
What is keyword density?
It is how often a word or phrase appears compared with the total number of words, shown as a percentage. It helps you spot overused words in an essay or an article. There is no magic percentage for search engines: write naturally and use the table to catch accidental repetition.
What do the character limits show?
The Limits tab shows how much of the allowance is used for common places such as an X post (280), an SMS (160), an SEO title (60), a meta description (160), Instagram captions, LinkedIn posts, YouTube titles and descriptions, and Google Ads. Counting rules differ slightly between platforms, for example X weights links and some characters differently, so treat it as a close guide.
Does it work in Sinhala, Tamil, Hindi and other languages?
Yes. Words are counted in any script, and the character count follows user-perceived characters. Reading level scores are English only, so they are hidden for other languages.
Can I count words in a file?
Yes. Use Open file to load a plain text file (.txt, .md, .csv and similar) from your device. It is read locally, not uploaded. For Word or PDF documents, copy the text and paste it in.
Is there a size limit?
There is no fixed limit. A few hundred thousand words work smoothly. For very large texts the page shows a short ‘calculating’ message while it counts, because everything is done on your device.
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