Word & Character Counter
Paste or type any text to count words, characters and sentences, plus an estimated reading time.
How to use
- Paste or type your text into the box.
- Counts for words, characters and sentences update live.
- Reading time assumes about 200 words per minute.
How the Word & Character Counter works
Counts words, characters and sentences as you type, and estimates reading time — for essays with limits, meta descriptions and anything with a word budget.
Words are runs of non-whitespace characters. Characters are counted including spaces. Sentences are counted by terminal punctuation. Reading time assumes 200 words per minute, roughly average adult prose speed.
reading time = words ÷ 200 minutes
Worked example
A 1,000-word article counts as about a 5-minute read.
Things worth knowing
- Adult reading speed ranges from roughly 200 to 300 words per minute for ordinary prose; technical material is slower.
- Useful limits: meta description about 160 characters, X posts 280, LinkedIn headline 220, SMS 160.
- Text stays in your browser and is never uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
Is my text stored anywhere?
No. Everything is counted in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
How is reading time estimated?
It divides the word count by an average reading speed of 200 words per minute.
How are hyphenated words counted?
As one word, since the counter splits on whitespace. 'Well-known' counts once.
Does the character count include spaces?
Yes, it counts every character. Most platform limits also count spaces.