Word counter
Paste your text and see the number of words straight away, along with characters, lines, sentences, paragraphs and how long it takes to read. The counting happens in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
- Words
- 0
- Characters (with spaces)
- 0
- Characters without spaces
- 0
- Lines
- 0
- Sentences
- 0
- Paragraphs
- 0
- Reading time
- 0
- Speaking time
- 0
How it works
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Paste your text
Type or paste your text in the box, or open a .txt file.
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Counted straight away
Characters, words, lines, sentences and paragraphs are counted as you type.
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Read the result
The estimated reading and speaking time are shown too.
How words are counted
A word is a run of letters and digits. An apostrophe or hyphen between letters keeps a word together, so don't and well-known count as one word each. Numbers count as words, and punctuation on its own doesn't. Under the main figure you see how many different words there are, a quick indication of repetition.
Example
one two two three, don't stop-believing 3 times. has 8 words, of which 7 are different (two is repeated). Reading it takes about 2 seconds.
Reading time is worked out at 230 words per minute and speaking time at 130, which is useful for speeches and videos: a 5-minute talk is about 650 words.
Word limits
Essays, articles, abstracts and ads often have word limits. Use the counter to stay within them, and open a .txt file straight into it. For character limits, use the character counter. To see how often one word is used, use count specific characters; to put every word on its own line for sorting, use split text.
Frequently asked questions
How are words counted?
A word is a run of letters and digits. An apostrophe or hyphen between letters keeps it together, so `don't` and `well-known` each count as one. Numbers count as words and punctuation on its own does not.
What does "different words" mean?
The number of distinct words, ignoring capitals. `one two two three` has 4 words and 3 different ones. A low share of different words points at repetition.
How accurate are the reading and speaking times?
They are estimates at 230 and 130 words per minute. A 5-minute speech is about 650 words, and a 10-minute read about 2,300.
Does my word processor give the same number?
Usually within a few words. Differences come from how hyphens, slashes, numbers and symbols are treated, so for a strict limit, check with the program that sets the limit.