How to count words and characters
- Type or paste your text into the box. Everything is counted live as you type.
- The top cards show the word, character and sentence counts. The details table adds characters without spaces, paragraphs, lines, unique words, average word length, reading and speaking time and a readability score.
- Check the limits panel to see whether your text fits common limits such as an X post, an SMS or a meta description.
- Set a word goal for an essay or article and watch the progress bar fill up. Your text is saved in your browser, so it is still here if you close the tab.
How words are counted
Words are counted with your browser's built-in language-aware word segmentation, so hyphenated words, contractions such as "don't", numbers and accented letters are handled sensibly, and it also works for languages without spaces between words, such as Chinese, Japanese and Thai. Characters are counted as you see them, so an emoji or an accented letter counts as one character even when it is stored as several code points. Microsoft Word and Google Docs use slightly different rules, so their totals may differ by a word or two on unusual text.
Reading time assumes an average silent reading speed of 238 words per minute and speaking time 130 words per minute, typical for presentations. The Flesch reading ease score estimates how easy English text is to read: 60–70 is plain English.
Your text never leaves your device: counting happens in the browser and nothing is uploaded.
Does the word counter count numbers?
Yes. Numbers such as 2025 or 3.5 count as words, as they do in most word processors.
Are spaces counted as characters?
The main character count includes spaces and line breaks. The details table also shows the count without spaces.
How many words is a 5-minute speech?
About 650 words at a comfortable 130 words per minute. The speaking time row estimates it for your text.