Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, and estimate reading time. Real-time updates as you type.
What the word counter measures
Paste or type text into the box and the seven figures update as you type. They cover words, characters, characters without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, estimated reading time and estimated speaking time. Counting happens in your browser, so the text you paste is not uploaded.
How each number is counted
- Words: the text is trimmed and split wherever there is a run of spaces, tabs or line breaks. Each piece counts as one word, so a hyphenated term or a number such as 3.5 is one word. A dash standing alone between spaces also counts.
- Characters: every character in the box, including spaces and line breaks.
- No Spaces: the same character count with all whitespace removed.
- Sentences: each run of full stops, question marks or exclamation marks ends a sentence. Because this is a simple rule, abbreviations such as e.g. and decimal points can add extra sentences.
- Paragraphs: blocks of text separated by at least one blank line.
Reading and speaking time
Reading time divides the word count by 200, a common planning speed for silent reading. Speaking time divides it by 130, a typical pace for a presentation. Both round up to the next whole minute, and both show at least 1 minute even for very short text, so a single sentence still shows as about one minute. Dense technical writing takes longer to read, and skimming takes less time.
Worked example
Take the two sentences "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. It was not amused!" The first sentence has nine words and the second has four, which makes 13 words in total. The text is 63 characters long, including 12 spaces, so the No Spaces figure is 51. It has two sentences and one paragraph. Reading time is 1 minute, since 13 words divided by 200 rounds up to one.
Tips and limits
- Extra line breaks do not add words, but they do add to the character count.
- Other platforms count characters in different ways, for example for emoji or spacing. Check the rules of the place where the text will be published.
- Use Clear to empty the box, and Copy Stats to paste all seven figures into another document.
- No length limit is set, but very long documents may make the page slower to update.
Word Counter – Frequently Asked Questions
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time is the word count divided by 200 words per minute, rounded up, with a minimum of one minute. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute. These are planning estimates, not measurements of any particular reader.
Does it count characters with or without spaces?
We display both: characters including spaces and line breaks, and a "No Spaces" count with all whitespace removed, so you can use whichever metric you need.
Is there a word limit?
No length limit is set. You can paste articles, essays, or entire documents, and the counts update as you type or paste.
What counts as a sentence?
Each run of full stops, question marks or exclamation marks ends a sentence. This is an approximation, so abbreviations like e.g. and decimal numbers can change the count.