Word Counter
Paste your text and get a live count of words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and estimated reading time.
Whether you're trimming an essay to a word limit, keeping a blog post the right length for SEO, or making sure a bio fits a form field, you need an accurate word and character count fast. This free word counter updates live as you type or paste, so you always know exactly where you stand — no clicking a button, no page reloads.
Everything is counted directly in your browser. Your text is never uploaded or stored anywhere, which makes this tool safe for confidential documents, unpublished manuscripts and client work. Alongside words and characters you also get sentence and paragraph counts plus estimated reading time (based on an average of 238 words per minute) and speaking time (150 words per minute) — handy for speeches, presentations and video scripts. If you need to check text against a specific platform limit, try the character limit checker.
How to use the Word Counter
- Paste or type your text into the box above.
- The counters update instantly: words, characters (with and without spaces), sentences and paragraphs.
- Check the reading time and speaking time estimates if you're preparing a talk or article.
- Use Copy stats to copy a summary, or Clear to start over.
Frequently asked questions
How does the word counter define a word?
Any sequence of characters separated by spaces, tabs or line breaks counts as one word. This matches how Microsoft Word, Google Docs and most publishing platforms count, so the numbers should line up with what editors and teachers see.
Is my text uploaded to a server?
No. The counting happens entirely in your browser with JavaScript. Nothing you type or paste ever leaves your device, so it's safe to use with private or confidential text.
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time uses an average adult silent-reading speed of 238 words per minute, based on published reading-rate research. Speaking time uses 150 words per minute, a comfortable pace for presentations and voiceovers.
Is there a limit on how much text I can paste?
There's no hard limit. Because processing is local, even very long documents — tens of thousands of words — are counted instantly on a typical computer or phone.
Does it count characters with and without spaces?
Yes, both. "Characters" includes every letter, number, space and punctuation mark, while "No spaces" excludes all whitespace — useful for platforms and translation jobs that bill or limit by character.