Free Word Counter
Instantly count words, characters (with and without spaces), sentences, paragraphs, and get estimated reading and speaking times. Paste any text — articles, essays, emails, social media posts — and see live stats update as you type. 100% browser-based, no upload, no signup.
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Words
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Characters
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No Spaces
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Sentences
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Paragraphs
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Read time
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Speak time
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Any text works
Paste articles, essays, emails, social posts, or code comments.
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Instant results
Stats update live as you type — no need to click anything.
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100% private
Your text stays in your browser and is never sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are words counted?+
Words are counted by splitting on whitespace and punctuation. Hyphenated words like "well-known" count as one word. Numbers count as words.
How is reading time calculated?+
Reading time uses the average adult silent reading speed of 200 words per minute. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute, the average conversational speaking pace.
Does it count characters with or without spaces?+
Both. The tool shows character count including spaces and character count excluding spaces separately.
Is my text stored anywhere?+
No. All counting happens in your browser with JavaScript. Your text is never sent to any server.
What is the character limit for Twitter/X?+
Twitter/X allows 280 characters per post (or 25,000 for X Premium). The character count shown here matches how Twitter counts — each standard character is one, most emoji count as two.
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Why Word Count Matters
Whether you're writing a blog post, academic essay, tweet, or press release, knowing your word and character count is essential. Most publishing platforms have strict limits: Twitter/X allows 280 characters, SMS is 160, meta descriptions should be 150–160 characters, and academic essays often have rigid word count requirements.
Reading Time vs. Speaking Time
The tool estimates reading time at 200 words per minute — the average adult silent reading speed for comprehension. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute, the average conversational pace. For presentations and speeches, speaking time is the more useful metric. A standard 5-minute speech is roughly 650 words; a 20-minute TED Talk runs about 2,600 words.
Word Frequency Analysis
The word frequency chart shows your 10 most-used words (excluding common stop words like "the", "and", "is"). This is useful for spotting overused words and improving writing variety. If the same word appears in the top 3 multiple times, consider finding synonyms to improve readability.