Count Words & Characters Instantly
Paste or type your text and get word count, character count, reading time, and more — all in real time. No sign-up, works in your browser.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are words counted?
Words are counted by splitting text on whitespace (spaces, tabs, newlines). Hyphenated words like "well-known" are counted as one word. Numbers and punctuation attached to words are included as part of that word.
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time is estimated at 200 words per minute — the average silent reading speed for adults. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute, the average conversational speaking pace.
What counts as a sentence?
Sentences are counted by splitting on terminal punctuation: periods, exclamation marks, and question marks. Abbreviations and decimal numbers may cause slight overcounting in some texts.
Is my text saved or uploaded?
No. All counting happens instantly in your browser using JavaScript. Your text is never sent to any server. You can safely paste sensitive content like emails or documents.
What does the character limit field do?
Set a character limit (e.g. 280 for a tweet, 160 for an SMS) and a live indicator shows how many characters you have left or how far over the limit you are.