Word counter and character counter

A word counter and character counter that updates as you type

This word counter shows six figures above the text box: words, characters, characters without spaces, sentences, paragraphs and lines. They change with every keystroke. Below the text you get a "Reading time:" based on 230 words per minute and a "Speaking time:" based on 140 words per minute.

It is useful whenever a length is imposed: students with an essay or dissertation word count to respect, web writers checking the length of an article, a title tag or a meta description, people posting on social media, translators and freelancers paid by the word or by the character, and job applicants trimming a cover letter or a CV.

How to check your word count

1. Type or paste your text into the box marked "Type or paste your text here".
2. Read the six counters, then the two times under the text.
3. Look at "Character limits": title tag (60), meta description (155), SMS (160), X post (280), Instagram caption (2,200) and LinkedIn post (3,000). A gauge turns red once its limit is exceeded.
4. Check "Most frequent words": the ten words of three letters or more that appear at least twice, each with its count and its share as a percentage.
5. Click "Copy" to take the text with you, or "Clear all" to start again.

Word count and character count: useful benchmarks

Here a word is any run of characters without a space that contains at least one letter or digit. Take Don't worry: the well-known 9-to-5 job isn't going anywhere!. The counter returns 9 words, 60 characters and 52 characters without spaces. "Don't", "well-known" and "9-to-5" each count as one word. A punctuation mark standing alone between two spaces counts as none.

• A typed page holds roughly 500 words single-spaced and 250 words double-spaced, so a 1,500-word essay runs to about three single-spaced pages.
• A five-minute speech is about 700 words at 140 words per minute.
• A text message longer than 160 characters is split into several parts. As soon as it contains an emoji or certain special characters, the limit drops to 70 characters per message.

When a limit is given in characters, it nearly always includes spaces: that is how social networks, search snippets and most forms count. A count without spaces is requested by some translation price lists and some application forms. If the instructions do not say, ask whoever set the limit.

Totals can differ by a few units from one program to another. Some treat a lone punctuation mark as a word; others split words at hyphens or apostrophes. On a 2,000-word assignment the gap is small, but if you are close to the limit, trust the tool your marker or client uses.

Frequently asked questions

Is my text sent anywhere?

No. Counting happens in your browser and the text is not sent to the site. It is kept on your device for your next visit, up to 200,000 characters. Click "Clear all" to remove it.

How are hyphenated words and apostrophes counted?

Anything written without a space is one word: "isn't", "mother-in-law" and "o'clock" each count once.

Do spaces and emojis count as characters?

The "characters" figure includes spaces and line breaks; "characters without spaces" leaves them out. An emoji counts as one character, even when it is built from several symbols.

How is reading time calculated?

The number of words is divided by 230 for silent reading and by 140 for reading aloud. A 500-word text gives 2 min 10 s of reading and 3 min 34 s of speaking.