Word Counter & Character Counter

Count words, characters, sentences and reading time. Your text never leaves your browser.

Words
0
Characters
0
Characters (no spaces)
0
Sentences
0
Paragraphs
0
Reading time
0 sec
Speaking time
0 sec
Bytes (UTF-8)
0

What each number means

MetricHow it is counted
WordsRuns of characters separated by whitespace
CharactersEvery visible character plus spaces and line breaks. An emoji like 👍🏽 is one character
Characters (no spaces)Characters minus spaces, tabs and line breaks
SentencesText ending in . ! or ? followed by a space or the end of the text. Decimals like 3.5 do not split a sentence, but abbreviations such as Dr. or e.g. may be counted as a sentence end
ParagraphsLines that contain text, so every line break starts a new paragraph. Blank lines are ignored
Reading / speaking timeWords ÷ 238 wpm (silent reading) and ÷ 150 wpm (speaking)
Bytes (UTF-8)Storage size: 1 byte for English letters, 2–4 bytes for accented letters, other scripts and emoji

Common character and word limits

WhereLimit
X (Twitter) post280 characters (standard accounts)
Instagram caption2,200 characters
LinkedIn post3,000 characters
Google title tag (shown in results)about 50–60 characters
Meta description (shown in results)about 150–160 characters
Common App personal essay650 words
SMS text message160 characters (70 with emoji or non-Latin text)

Platforms change their limits from time to time, so check the official help page before you publish. Set the character limit above to see how much room you have left.

Tips for hitting a word count

Frequently asked questions

How does this word counter count words?

A word is any run of characters separated by spaces, tabs or line breaks. "Well-known" counts as one word and "e-mail address" as two. Numbers count as words too, which matches how Google Docs and most essay portals count.

Does the character count include spaces?

Both are shown. "Characters" includes spaces and line breaks (each line break counts as one character); "Characters (no spaces)" leaves out every space, tab and line break. Emoji and accented letters count as one character each, the way you see them.

How is reading time calculated?

Reading time assumes 238 words per minute, the average silent reading speed for adults reading non-fiction (Brysbaert, 2019). Speaking time assumes 150 words per minute, a comfortable pace for presentations and speeches.

Why do Twitter (X) and this tool show different counts?

X weights some characters differently: Korean, Chinese and Japanese characters count as two, and every link counts as 23 characters. For plain English text the counts match.

Is my text saved or uploaded anywhere?

No. All counting happens in your browser with JavaScript. Nothing you type is sent to a server or stored, so it is safe to paste drafts, essays or confidential documents.

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