Word Counter

How to count words and characters

1. Type in the box or paste your text. The counts change as you write.
2. Words, characters and reading time are at the top. Sentences, paragraphs, lines, bytes and speaking time are under Details.
3. If you have a limit, enter it next to Limit and choose words or characters. The bar turns amber at 90% and red once you go over.
4. Open Keyword density to see which words you repeat most.
5. Press Copy text when you’re done, or turn on draft saving to keep the text in this browser for next time.

How the counts work

Word counters rarely agree to the last digit, because each one defines a word or a character a little differently. These are the rules used here.

• Characters: every letter, digit, punctuation mark, space and line break counts as one. An emoji counts as one even when it’s built from several parts, such as a flag, an emoji with a skin tone or a family emoji.
• No spaces: the same count without spaces, tabs and line breaks.
• Words: anything between spaces that contains a letter or a number. “Don’t”, “e-mail” and “3.14” are one word each. A dash or an emoji on its own isn’t a word.
• Sentences: text that ends with a period, question mark or exclamation mark followed by a space, plus a line that ends without punctuation, such as a heading. Abbreviations like “Mr.” and “e.g.” don’t end a sentence.
• Paragraphs and lines: paragraphs are lines that contain text; blank lines don’t count. Lines counts every line, blank or not.
• Bytes: the size of the text in UTF-8, the encoding used by web pages and most databases. English letters take 1 byte, accented letters 2, most other scripts 3 and emoji 4.
• Reading and speaking time: words divided by 238 per minute for reading, the average silent-reading speed for non-fiction in a 2019 review of 190 reading studies, and by 130 per minute for speaking, an unhurried pace for a talk. Dense or technical text takes longer.

Characters with spaces or without?

Most limits on the web count spaces. A post on X, an Instagram caption and a meta description count every character you type, spaces and line breaks included, so that’s the number to watch.

Counts without spaces turn up in some translation and writing quotes and in a few application forms. If a form doesn’t say which one it means, go by the count with spaces. It’s always the higher of the two, so text that fits it fits either way.

Common character and word limits

Limits change now and then, so check the form itself before you submit.

Frequently asked questions

Do line breaks count as characters?

Yes. A line break counts as one character, the same as a space, and is left out of the count without spaces. Some word processors skip line breaks, so their total can be a little lower. Details shows how many lines you have.

Why is my count different from Word or Google Docs?

Each program has its own rules for dashes, slashes, web addresses and emoji, so totals can differ by a word or two per page. If a form has a strict limit, its own counter is the one that decides.

Does an emoji count as one character?

Here, yes: every emoji counts as one character, including flags and emoji combined from several parts. Other sites may count more. X counts most emoji as two characters, and a text message that contains an emoji is limited to 70 characters instead of 160.

How is reading time worked out?

The word count is divided by 238 words per minute, the average silent-reading speed for non-fiction in a 2019 review of reading studies. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute. Both are estimates.

Is my text saved or uploaded?

No. The counting happens in this browser tab and nothing is sent anywhere. If you turn on Save a draft, the text is kept in this browser's local storage on this device only, and turning the option off deletes it.

Your text never leaves your device. Everything on this page runs locally in your browser: there’s no upload, no account and nothing stored on a server.