Word Counter
Paste or type your text and the counts update as you go: words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, reading time and the words you use most.
Most-used words
Common short words such as "the" and "and" are left out.
Your text is counted inside your browser and is never sent to our server.
How to use the Word Counter
- Paste your text into the box, or start typing. You can also drop in text copied from Word, Google Docs or an email.
- Read the counts underneath. They refresh with every keystroke, so you can trim a draft and watch the number fall.
- Check Most-used words to spot words you repeat too often.
- Press Copy counts to copy all the figures, for example to paste into a brief or a submission form.
How the counts are worked out
Different programs count slightly differently, so here is exactly what this tool does:
- Words are runs of letters or numbers. Hyphenated words ("well-known") and words with apostrophes ("don't") count as one word. Punctuation and symbols on their own, such as a dash, are not counted.
- Characters include spaces, line breaks and punctuation. Characters (no spaces) leaves out all whitespace.
- Sentences end with a period, question mark, exclamation mark or ellipsis followed by a space or the end of the text. Abbreviations like "e.g. " can add an extra sentence.
- Paragraphs are blocks of text separated by a blank line.
- Reading time assumes 238 words per minute, the average silent reading rate reported in a 2019 review of reading-speed studies by psychologist Marc Brysbaert. Real speed varies a lot between people and texts.
Microsoft Word and Google Docs use their own rules, so a count here can differ from theirs by a few words, usually around hyphens, numbers and symbols.
When a word count matters
Word and character limits turn up in school essays, job applications, grant forms, journal abstracts and product descriptions. Meta descriptions for web pages are usually measured in characters rather than words, so the character count is the one to watch there.
Frequently asked questions
Is my text saved or sent anywhere?
No. The counting happens with JavaScript in your browser tab. Nothing is uploaded, and the text disappears when you close or reload the page.
Why is my count different from Microsoft Word?
Word processors have their own rules for things like hyphens, numbers, URLs and stand-alone symbols. This tool counts runs of letters and numbers, treating hyphenated words and contractions as single words, so totals can differ slightly.
Does it work for languages other than English?
Yes for languages that separate words with spaces, such as German, Spanish, French or Hungarian, because accented letters are counted as letters. Languages written without spaces between words, such as Chinese or Japanese, will not give a meaningful word count; use the character count instead.
How is reading time calculated?
Words are divided by 238, an average silent reading speed from published research, and rounded to the nearest minute. Treat it as a rough guide.
How do emojis count?
Most single emojis count as one character. Some combined emojis, such as family or skin-tone variants, are built from several characters and count as more than one.
Sources: Brysbaert (2019), How many words do we read per minute? Journal of Memory and Language