Word Counter
- Words
- 0
- Characters (with spaces)
- 0
- Characters (no spaces)
- 0
- Sentences
- 0
- Paragraphs
- 0
- Lines
- 0
- Reading time
- 0 min
- Speaking time
- 0 min
Overview
About the Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs as you type, with an estimated reading and speaking time. Your text stays in your browser.
Getting started
How to count your text
- 1 Add your text
Type directly in the editor, or use Paste to drop in text from another document. Counts update on every keystroke.
- 2 Read the headline counts
The top row shows words, characters, sentences, and estimated reading time — the four numbers most writers check first.
- 3 Open the full breakdown
Below the editor, the statistics panel adds characters without spaces, paragraphs, lines, and speaking time.
- 4 Copy the statistics
Use the Statistics button to copy every count as a plain-text list you can paste into a brief, report, or message.
Reference
What each metric measures
| Metric | How it is counted |
|---|---|
| Words | Any run of non-whitespace characters — "state-of-the-art" counts as one word. |
| Characters (with spaces) | Every character including spaces, tabs, and line breaks. |
| Characters (no spaces) | All characters with whitespace removed — useful for tight limits. |
| Sentences | Runs ending in . ! or ?, ignoring common abbreviations like Mr. and e.g. |
| Paragraphs | Blocks of text separated by one or more blank lines. |
| Reading time | Word count divided by 238 words per minute, the average silent-reading pace. |
| Speaking time | Word count divided by 130 words per minute, a typical presentation pace. |
Watch out for
Common word-count mistakes
-
Confusing character limits
Social platforms and forms differ on whether spaces count. Check both "with spaces" and "no spaces" before you assume a piece fits.
-
Expecting identical sentence counts everywhere
Sentence detection is approximate. Abbreviations, ellipses, and decimals make tools disagree slightly — small differences are normal.
-
Treating reading time as exact
Reading time is an estimate based on an average pace. Dense or technical writing reads slower than the figure suggests.
-
Forgetting that blank lines split paragraphs
A paragraph break needs an empty line between blocks. Single line breaks within a block count as one paragraph, not two.