Word Counter

A word counter tells you how long a piece of writing is: the number of words, characters, sentences and paragraphs. Students check essays and assignments against word limits, writers and bloggers aim for a target length, job seekers trim cover letters, and speakers estimate how long a script will take to deliver.

Paste or type your text and every count updates instantly, including characters with and without spaces, average word length and the longest word. Reading and speaking time estimates help with blog posts and videos, and the most-used-words list highlights repetition worth editing out. Your text never leaves your device.

A word is a run of letters or digits, so hyphenated words like "well-known" and contractions like "don't" count once, and punctuation and emoji don't add words. Sentences end at a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark; paragraphs are separated by a blank line.

Reading time uses 238 words a minute, the average silent reading speed for adults found in a 2019 review of 190 studies, and speaking time uses 130 words a minute, a comfortable pace for a talk or video script.