Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs as you type, with an estimate of how long the text takes to read. Nothing is uploaded — the counting happens in this browser tab.
Your text
Counts
Private by design. This page has no backend. Your text is counted by JavaScript running on your own device and is never sent anywhere.
How each number is counted
Word counters disagree with each other because "word" and "sentence" have no single correct definition. Here is exactly what this one does, so you can tell whether a difference against another tool is a bug or just a different rule.
Words
Any run of characters between spaces that contains at least one letter or digit. So
well-known and don't each count once, and a stray
— on its own does not count at all. Chinese, Japanese and Korean text is
not space-separated, so each of those characters is counted individually.
Characters
Every character including spaces, punctuation and line breaks. Emoji count as one character each, even the ones JavaScript stores as two. The second figure repeats the count with all whitespace removed.
Sentences
Counted at every . ! ? … that is
followed by a space or the end of the text, which keeps decimals like 3.14
and addresses like example.com intact. An abbreviation such as
Prof. will still be read as the end of a sentence — telling those apart
needs a language model, which would mean sending your text to a server. That is a
trade this site does not make.
Paragraphs
Every line that contains at least one letter or digit. Blank lines are skipped, so double-spacing your text does not double the count. The total line count, blank lines included, is in the summary under the figures.
Reading and speaking time
Words divided by the reading speed you pick, defaulting to 200 words per minute, a common estimate for silent reading of ordinary prose. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute. Both are averages and will not match any particular person, so treat them as a rough guide for a blog post or a talk rather than a promise.
Common uses
Keeping an essay or an assignment inside a word limit, checking that a meta description fits in roughly 155 characters, trimming a bio to a character count, and estimating how long a script will take to read aloud.
How to use the Word Counter
- Paste or type your text into the box — the counts update as you type.
- Pick a reading speed if you want the reading-time estimate to match your pace.
- Read the word, character, sentence and paragraph counts, then copy or clear the box.
Frequently asked questions
Does it count characters with and without spaces?
Yes. It shows total characters and characters excluding spaces, alongside words, sentences and paragraphs.
How is reading time estimated?
Reading time is the word count divided by the reading speed you choose, which defaults to 200 words per minute.
Is my text uploaded anywhere?
No. Counting happens in your browser with JavaScript, so your text never leaves your device.