Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs as you type, with an estimated reading time. Your text stays in this browser tab.
Runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded.
01How to use the Word Counter
- 01Type or paste your text into the box.
- 02The counts at the top update as you type.
- 03Use Copy counts to paste the figures into a report, or Clear text to start again.
02How words are counted
Word: a run of letters or digits; apostrophes and hyphens
inside a word keep it whole (don’t, well-known)
Sentence: text ending in . ! ? or …
Paragraph: a block separated by a blank line
Reading time = words ÷ 238 words per minute03Examples
“The quick brown fox.” is 4 words, 20 characters and 1 sentence.
A 1,500-word article takes about 6 minutes to read.
“Well-known” counts as one word; “well known” counts as two.
04Frequently asked questions
Is my text uploaded anywhere?
No. Counting runs in your browser. The text is not sent to our server and is never included in analytics.
Why does my count differ from my word processor?
Editors treat URLs, numbers with symbols and some punctuation differently. Differences are usually a handful of words in a long document.
What reading speed is used?
238 words per minute, the average silent reading speed for adults reading non-fiction found in a 2019 review of reading studies.