Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs as you type. Get reading time, speaking time, and a readability score instantly — free, in your browser, with nothing stored.
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- Characters (no spaces)
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- Sentences
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- Lines
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- Reading time
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- Readability
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Everything is counted in your browser as you type. Your text is never sent to or stored on a server.
What the counter measures
Paste or type and every number updates live: words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, and lines. Reading time uses 238 words per minute — the average adult silent-reading speed found in a large 2019 review of reading research. Speaking time uses 150 words per minute, a comfortable presentation pace.
The readability score is Flesch Reading Ease, the same formula built into most word processors. Above 60 reads as plain English; below 40 starts feeling like a legal contract. Most successful web writing lands between 60 and 80.
The text tools
One click converts case (UPPERCASE, lowercase, Title Case, Sentence case), strips the double spaces that sneak in when editing, and copies the cleaned result. The top-words list shows which words you lean on most — useful for catching repetition and for a rough sense of keyword balance.
Why writers count words at all
Nearly every writing context has a number attached: essays have minimums, tweets and meta descriptions have ceilings, speeches have time slots, and editors commission by word count. Knowing your numbers as you write beats discovering them after. Our guides below cover the limits that matter and what the research actually says about ideal length.
Guides from Word Counter
Longer explainers written for this site. Each one carries a review date.
- Every character limit that actually matters in 2026
Tweets, titles, meta descriptions, text messages, resumes — the real numbers, why they exist, and which ones you can safely ignore. - Readability scores explained (and why grade 8 wins)
What the Flesch score in our counter actually measures, where the formula came from, and the case for writing simpler than feels natural. - Reading time vs speaking time: the math behind the minutes
Where the "5 min read" number comes from, why speeches need a different clock, and how to time a talk without rehearsing to a stopwatch. - Does word count matter for SEO? What Google actually says
The 2,000-word blog post is a cargo cult. What the evidence and Google’s own statements say about length and rankings. - How to cut 20% of your words without losing anything
A mechanical editing pass anyone can run: seven cuts that shrink word count while making the writing stronger, with before-and-after examples.
Frequently asked questions
Is my text stored or sent anywhere?
No. Counting happens in your browser as you type. Nothing you paste ever leaves your device, and closing the tab erases it.
How accurate is the reading time?
It uses 238 words per minute, the average adult silent-reading rate from published reading research. Real readers range roughly from 150 to 300, so treat it as a solid midpoint, not a stopwatch.
What counts as a word?
Any run of letters or numbers, including hyphenated and apostrophe words — "state-of-the-art" counts as one word, matching how most word processors count.