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Word Counter

Count words, characters, sentences and reading time as you type.

Saved in this browser only

When to use it

The word counter is for any writing with a length limit or target: school essays and assignments, job application answers, social media bios, product descriptions, press releases and speeches. It is also a quick way to see how long a text will take to read or say out loud, and whether you’re overusing a particular word.

How to count words

  1. Type or paste your text into the Your text box. Counts update as you type.
  2. Read the figures under the box:
    • Words, Characters and Without spaces.
    • Sentences and Paragraphs.
    • Reading time and Speaking time.
  3. Check Most used words to spot repetition (it appears once a word is used more than once).
  4. Use Copy text to copy everything back out, or Clear to start again.

Your text is remembered in this browser, so you can close the tab and come back to it later.

A worked example

A scholarship form asks for “no more than 250 words” about your goals. You paste your draft and see 312 words, 2 minutes reading time, and “really” listed six times under Most used words. Deleting the extra “really”s and one repeated example brings it to 268. Cutting a long opening sentence gets you to 243 words, safely under the limit with a little room to spare.

Characters or words?

Some limits are in characters rather than words. X (Twitter) posts, text messages, meta descriptions and many online forms count characters. The Characters figure includes spaces and punctuation, which is what most of these limits use. Without spaces is useful for the few systems, such as some translation price quotes, that ignore spaces.

Tips for hitting a word limit

  • Cut filler first: “in order to” becomes “to”, and “due to the fact that” becomes “because”.
  • Remove repeated points. If two sentences say the same thing, keep the stronger one.
  • Watch the Most used words list. Repeating a word often makes writing feel flat; swap in alternatives.
  • For speeches, aim for about 140 words per minute of speaking time.

Common mistakes

  • Counting the title and references when the rules say not to. For essays with a reference list, the Essay Word Counter can leave those out.
  • Pasting from a PDF can split words at line ends, which changes the count. Check for broken words like “infor- mation”.
  • Assuming every site counts characters the same way. Some count emoji as two characters; X counts links as 23.

Private by design

The text never leaves your device, so it’s safe for unpublished work, confidential documents and personal writing.

Track an essay against its limit with the Essay Word Counter, count only characters with the Character Counter, or check how easy your writing is to read with the Readability Checker.

Frequently asked questions

How does the counter decide what a word is?

Any run of letters or numbers counts as one word, including words with apostrophes or hyphens such as "don't" and "well-known". Punctuation and emoji on their own are not counted as words.

Does it count words the same way as Microsoft Word or Google Docs?

Usually within one or two words. Small differences come from things like dashes between words, URLs and numbers with decimal points, which each program treats slightly differently.

Is my text saved or uploaded?

It's kept only in this browser on your device, so it's still there if you close the tab by accident. It's never uploaded. Press Clear to remove it.

How are reading and speaking times worked out?

Reading time uses an average adult silent reading speed of 238 words per minute. Speaking time uses 140 words per minute, a comfortable pace for presentations and speeches.

Why aren't words like "the" in the most used list?

Very common short words are left out so the list shows the words that carry meaning. They still count toward the total.

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