Word Counter
Live word, character, sentence and reading-time counts as you type.
Paste or type your text and the counters update on every keystroke — words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, and rough reading and speaking times all at once. It's built for the moments when a piece has to fit a limit: a meta description that can't run long, an essay with a minimum, a script timed to the second. Everything is measured on your device as you write, so even a long draft stays private and responds instantly.
How each number is counted
A word is any run of characters separated by spaces or line breaks, so "self-esteem" and "e.g." each count once, the way most editors and word processors treat them. The character total includes spaces and punctuation — it's the full length of the text, which is the figure that matters for hard limits like a tweet or a meta tag. Sentences are counted by looking for full stops, question marks and exclamation marks, and paragraphs by the blank lines between blocks of text. These are sensible rules rather than perfect grammar, so an abbreviation-heavy passage may read slightly high on sentences.
Reading and speaking time
The reading estimate assumes about 225 words per minute, a common average for a silent adult reader, and the speaking estimate uses roughly 140 words per minute, closer to a steady presentation pace. Both are rounded up to the next whole minute. Treat them as ballpark figures: a technical passage full of numbers reads slower, and a rehearsed speaker with pauses runs longer than the raw word count suggests. They're most useful for sizing a blog post or checking that a three-minute talk isn't secretly a six-minute one.
Handy length targets
A few limits come up often enough to be worth memorising. A page title in search results is usually cut off past about 60 characters, and a meta description past roughly 155. A single post on X (Twitter) allows 280 characters, and many university essays are set in words rather than pages — 500, 1,000 or 2,500 are typical bands. Keeping this counter open while you trim or expand lets you land on the target without guessing and re-checking in another tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a "word" defined here?
Any sequence of characters bounded by spaces or line breaks counts as one word. Hyphenated terms and abbreviations with full stops are therefore counted as single words, matching how most word processors behave.
Does the character count include spaces?
Yes. The character figure is the total length of your text including spaces and punctuation, because that is the number that matters for strict limits such as social posts and meta tags.
How is reading time worked out?
It divides your word count by 225 words per minute — a typical silent reading speed — and rounds up to the next minute. Speaking time uses 140 words per minute instead. Both are estimates, not exact timings.
Is my text uploaded or stored anywhere?
No. All counting happens in your browser as you type. Nothing is sent to a server, and closing or refreshing the page clears the text completely.