Word Counter
Words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and reading time
About this tool
This free word counter counts words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, and lines in any text you paste or type. It also estimates reading time at a typical adult reading speed of 225 words per minute, and speaking time at 150 words per minute — useful for timed presentations and speeches. Everything runs in your browser; your text is never sent to any server.
Writers use word counters to hit targets: academic essays typically require a minimum word count, blog posts benefit from being 1,000–2,500 words for SEO purposes, social media posts must stay under platform character limits, and novels are typically 70,000–100,000 words. Knowing your count in real time removes the guesswork from writing to specification.
The tool counts words by splitting on whitespace, so it handles English and other space-separated languages correctly. Hyphenated words (like "mother-in-law") count as one word. Numbers count as words. Character count is given both with and without spaces (important because different platforms — Twitter, LinkedIn, SMS — count characters differently). The character counter companion tool gives additional platform-specific character limits.
Reading time estimates are based on the typical adult reading speed of 200–250 words per minute for prose. Technical content, academic text, and unfamiliar subject matter typically slow reading speed to 100–150 wpm. Casual skimming can reach 400+ wpm. The estimates here are ballpark figures — adjust them for your audience and content type.