Word Counter & Character Counter
Type or paste your text. Words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and reading time update as you type, with the words you use most.
Counts
- Words
- 0
- Characters
- 0
- Characters without spaces
- 0
- Sentences
- 0
- Paragraphs
- 0
- Average word
- 0
- Reading time
- 0 sec
- Speaking time
- 0 sec
Most used words
- Start typing to see the words you use most.
How to use the word counter
- Type in the box, or paste text from Word, Google Docs, an email or a web page.
- The counts update as you type: words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs (each line with text on it, as in Word and Google Docs), and reading and speaking time.
- Pick a reading speed if your readers are slower or faster than average. Speaking time assumes 130 words a minute, a calm presentation pace.
- Check Most used words to spot a word you repeat too often. Common words such as "the" and "and" are left out.
Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you paste or type is uploaded or saved.
Frequently asked questions
How does the word counter count words?
A word is a run of letters or digits, so "don't", "well-known", "3.14" and "1,000" each count as one word, while a dash, an ampersand or an emoji on its own counts as none. This matches Microsoft Word and Google Docs for normal text. Hindi, Marathi and other languages that put spaces between words are counted the same way, and each Chinese or Japanese character counts as one word.
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time is the word count divided by a reading speed. The default is 238 words a minute, the average silent reading speed for adults reading non-fiction in English, found by a 2019 review of 190 studies (Brysbaert). Choose 200 for technical or unfamiliar text and 300 for fast readers. A 1,000-word blog post takes about 4 minutes to read.
Do spaces and line breaks count as characters?
"Characters" counts everything, including spaces and line breaks, which is what most character limits mean, such as a 160-character meta description or a tweet. "Without spaces" leaves out spaces, tabs and line breaks. An emoji counts as one character. Your text is counted in your browser and is never uploaded or saved.