Word Counter

What this word counter measures

This free word counter updates in real time as you type or paste text. It’s designed for writers, students, marketers, and anyone working with word or character limits. Because counting rules can vary between platforms, this tool uses simple, predictable logic that matches how many editors and CMSs treat whitespace.

Word count

Words are counted by splitting text on whitespace (spaces, tabs, and line breaks). Multiple consecutive spaces are treated as a single separator. This approach is consistent for most writing workflows, especially when you’re targeting a specific word limit for an essay or SEO brief.

Character count (with and without spaces)

Character count helps when you’re writing meta descriptions, ad copy, or social captions. This page shows both total characters and a version that removes whitespace, which is useful for systems that ignore spaces when calculating limits.

Sentence and paragraph count

Sentences are estimated using a simple punctuation heuristic (period, question mark, or exclamation mark). Paragraphs are counted by detecting blank lines. These metrics are helpful for readability checks and formatting—especially when editing long-form content.

Reading time estimate

Reading time is a quick estimate based on an average reading speed (roughly 200 words per minute). Use it to plan blog post lengths, newsletter cadence, or script timing. For public speaking, you may want to test aloud—spoken pacing is often slower than reading.

Best use cases

• Writers & editors: keep drafts within target length while watching structure (sentences and paragraphs).
• SEO content: hit minimum word counts and estimate time-on-page.
• Students: stay under maximum word limits for assignments.
• Marketing: validate character limits for ads and snippets.

Privacy and performance

This tool runs locally in your browser, so your text isn’t uploaded for processing. That keeps the page fast and helps maintain a clean, responsive experience on mobile. For best results, paste plain text; rich formatting from word processors can include hidden characters that may affect counts.