Word Counter
Count words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, lines, estimated reading time, and speaking time.
How to use Word Counter
- Type or paste text into the input box.
- Read word, character, sentence, paragraph, and byte totals.
- Check reading time at 200 wpm and speaking time at 130 wpm.
- Copy or download the text.
About Word Counter
This free online word counter counts words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, lines, UTF-8 bytes, reading time, and speaking time as you type. Paste an essay, caption, script, or blog draft. The totals update instantly in your browser.
Related tools: Keyword Frequency Counter, Byte Counter & Character Counter, Free Readability Checker, Case Converter — Title Case & More
What this word count tool measures
A word is any letter or number sequence, including hyphenated terms and contractions. Characters include letters, digits, punctuation, emoji, and spaces. The no-spaces total is useful when a form or CMS counts visible glyphs only.
Sentences are split on period, question mark, and exclamation mark. Paragraphs are blocks separated by a blank line. Reading time uses 200 words per minute. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute, which is closer to a recorded voiceover or presentation pace.
Byte size uses UTF-8. English letters take 1 byte. Accented letters, many symbols, and emoji take 2 to 4 bytes. That matters for SMS segments, database fields, and APIs with a byte budget instead of a character budget.
When to use a word counter
Students use it for essay limits. Writers use it for blog posts and newsletters. Social teams use it before pasting copy into Instagram, X, LinkedIn, or SMS. SEO editors use it to check draft length before publishing.
If you need occurrence counts for a specific keyword or phrase, open the keyword frequency counter. If you need platform limits or raw byte totals, open the character and byte counter. If you want grade level and Flesch scores, open the readability checker.
Common uses
- Essays and assignments
- Check word count against a 500, 1000, or 2500 word brief without uploading the draft.
- Blog posts and SEO drafts
- See words, characters, and reading time before you publish a page.
- Scripts and voiceovers
- Use speaking time at 130 words per minute to estimate recording length.
- Private documents
- Count client copy, legal text, or unpublished drafts locally. Nothing is uploaded.
Questions about Word Counter
- Is this word counter free?
- Yes. There is no signup and no word limit for ordinary writing tasks.
- Is text sent to a server?
- No. Counting runs in your browser. The draft never leaves your device.
- How is reading time calculated?
- Reading time uses 200 words per minute. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute.
- Does it count characters and bytes too?
- Yes. You get characters with and without spaces, plus UTF-8 bytes. For platform limits, use the character and byte counter.
- Can I count a specific keyword?
- Use the keyword frequency counter to count one term or phrase and see density.
- Does the counter support non-English text and emojis?
- Yes. It handles Unicode letters, accented characters, emoji, and multiline paragraphs.
More tools like Word Counter
- Keyword Frequency CounterCount occurrences and density percentages for each word.
- Byte & Character CounterCount UTF-8 bytes, characters, letters, digits, and whitespace.
- Readability CheckerCheck Flesch Reading Ease, grade level, and sentence difficulty.
- Case ConverterConvert text to uppercase, lowercase, title case, camelCase, snake_case, and kebab-case.
Comments
Questions, ideas, or a bug in Word Counter? Let us know.