How to count words and characters
- Type or paste your text into the box.
- Read the live counts for words, characters, characters without spaces, sentences and paragraphs.
- Check reading and speaking time, and the keyword density table for your most repeated terms.
- Watch the platform limit bars to see how many characters you have left for X, meta tags, YouTube, Instagram or SMS.
What you can do with Word & Character Counter
- Live statistics
- Words, characters, characters without spaces, sentences, paragraphs and average word length update as you type, with no button to press.
- Reading and speaking time
- Estimates reading time at 238 words per minute and speaking time at 150 words per minute, useful for articles, scripts and speeches.
- Keyword density
- Lists your 12 most frequent words with count and percentage, skipping common stopwords like the, and or of so the real topics stand out.
- Platform character limits
- Progress bars for X posts (280), meta titles (60), meta descriptions (160), YouTube titles (100), Instagram captions (2,200) and a single SMS (160).
- Handles any language
- Uses the browser's Unicode word and character segmentation, so an emoji counts as one character and accented letters are counted correctly.
- Private by design
- Your text is counted locally in the browser tab. Nothing is uploaded, saved or logged, which matters for drafts, essays and client copy.
Word limits, character limits and how counting works
Word counts matter in more places than school essays. The Common App personal essay caps at 650 words, a typical blog post runs 1,000 to 2,000 words, and many journals and grant forms set strict limits. Characters matter just as much online: Google tends to cut meta titles after about 60 characters and descriptions around 155 to 160, X allows 280 characters per post on standard accounts, and a single SMS holds 160 plain characters, or only 70 once it contains an emoji. Seeing all of these at once saves you from rewriting text after it gets truncated.
Different tools count words slightly differently, which is why your total may not match Word or Google Docs exactly. This counter follows the Unicode word boundary rules built into your browser: contractions such as don't count as one word and numbers count as words. Characters are counted as visible symbols, so an emoji or an accented letter made of several code points counts once. Reading time assumes an average adult silent reading speed of about 238 words per minute, and speaking time uses 150, a comfortable pace for presentations and voiceovers.
Frequently asked questions
Is my text saved or uploaded anywhere?
No. The word counter runs entirely in your browser with JavaScript. The text you type or paste never leaves your device, isn't stored on a server and disappears when you close or refresh the tab. That makes it safe for unpublished articles, essays and confidential documents.
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time divides your word count by 238 words per minute, the average silent reading speed for adults reported in a large 2019 meta-analysis. Speaking time uses 150 words per minute, a natural pace for talks, podcasts and video narration. Treat both as estimates, since technical text reads slower.
Does the character count include spaces?
Yes. The main Characters figure includes spaces and line breaks, which is how X, Google and most online forms measure length. The No spaces figure removes all whitespace, which some translation agencies and academic guidelines use for pricing or limits.
Why does my count differ from Microsoft Word?
Word processors use slightly different rules for hyphens, dashes, URLs and numbers. This tool follows the Unicode word boundary rules built into your browser, so a difference of a few words on a long document is normal. For strict limits, stay a little under the maximum.
Does the word counter work on my phone?
Yes. It works in any modern mobile browser, including Safari on iPhone and Chrome on Android. Paste text from your notes or email app and the counts update immediately. There is nothing to install and no account to create.