Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs as you type, with reading and speaking time and your top keywords. It runs in your browser, so your text stays on your device.
Also searched as: character counter · word count · count words · letter counter
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How to use it
- 1
Add your text
Type or paste it into the box.
- 2
Read the counts
Words, characters, sentences and more update instantly.
- 3
Check keywords
See which words you use most and how often.
Questions about word counter
Is my text sent anywhere?
No. Counting happens in your browser, so your text never leaves your device.
How is reading time worked out?
From an average reading speed of 200 words per minute, and speaking time from 130 words per minute.
What counts as a word?
Any run of characters separated by spaces or line breaks.
When counts matter
Essays, applications and articles often come with a word limit, and posts and messages come with a character limit. Paste your text and watch the counts update as you edit, rather than guessing. Search results usually show only the first 60 or so characters of a page title and about 155 characters of a description, so the counter is also useful when writing those.
Check whether the limit you are working to counts spaces, since some forms do and some do not.
What the numbers mean
A word is any run of characters separated by spaces or line breaks, so a hyphenated word such as well-known counts as one and a number counts as a word. Reading time is worked out at 200 words a minute and speaking time at 130 words a minute, which are typical averages, so a five-minute talk is roughly 650 words.
The keyword list shows which words you use most. If one ordinary word dominates a short piece, it is a sign you may want more variety, and for web writing it shows what the page is mainly about.