What is a word counter and why use it?
A word counter measures the length of a piece of text: how many words, characters, sentences and paragraphs it contains. This one updates on every keystroke and also estimates reading time.
Length limits are everywhere. Essays have word counts, meta descriptions and tweets have character caps, and ad copy, product titles and SMS messages all have hard limits. Checking length as you write saves time cutting or padding afterwards.
How to use this tool
Add your text
Type in the box or paste text from any document. Counts update immediately.
Read the counts
See words, characters with and without spaces, paragraphs, sentences and estimated reading time at the top.
Copy what you need
Press Copy counts to copy the statistics, or Copy text to copy your text. Clear empties the box.
How the counts are calculated
Words are groups of non-space characters separated by spaces, tabs or line breaks, so a hyphenated word like well-known counts as one. Characters count every letter, number, space and symbol, and the no-spaces figure leaves out spaces and tabs but still counts line breaks.
Paragraphs are blocks of text separated by at least one blank line. Sentences are counted by ending punctuation (. ! ?). Reading time assumes about 238 words per minute, the average adult silent reading speed.
reading time = words ÷ 238 words per minuteFAQ
How does the word counter count words?
It counts every group of characters separated by whitespace. Numbers and symbols standing alone count as words, just as in most word processors.
What is the difference between characters and characters without spaces?
Characters counts everything, including spaces, tabs and line breaks. Characters without spaces leaves out the spaces and tabs, and the Spaces figure shows how many there are.
Is my text saved or uploaded?
No. The counting runs in your browser and your text is never sent to a server.
How are paragraphs counted?
A paragraph is a block of text separated from the next by a blank line. Single line breaks stay within the same paragraph.
How long should a meta description be?
Around 155 characters, so search engines can show it without cutting it off. Use the character count to check.