Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences and estimated reading time.
How it works
Whether you're hitting a strict word count for an assignment, staying under a character limit for a meta description or tweet, or just curious how long a piece will take to read, this counter analyzes your text live as you type -- no button to click, no waiting.
Beyond the basic word count, it breaks down character count both with and without spaces, sentence count, paragraph count, and an estimated reading time based on a 200-words-per-minute average adult reading speed -- the same benchmark used by most publishing platforms.
Everything updates instantly and locally in your browser; nothing you paste is ever sent anywhere, which matters if you're working with a draft you'd rather keep private.
Frequently asked questions
How is reading time calculated?
Based on an average adult reading speed of 200 words per minute, rounded up to the nearest minute -- the same benchmark commonly used by blogging platforms and Medium-style reading time estimates.
How is a 'sentence' counted?
The counter looks for sentence-ending punctuation (. ! ?) followed by whitespace or the end of the text. Abbreviations with periods (like 'e.g.') can occasionally be counted as sentence breaks, so treat the count as a close estimate.
Does it count words separated by hyphens as one or two?
A hyphenated word like 'well-known' is counted as one word, since it contains no whitespace.
Is my text stored or uploaded anywhere?
No -- the count updates entirely in your browser as you type; nothing is sent to a server.