Free Tool
Word Counter
Paste or type any text to instantly count words, characters, lines, sentences, paragraphs, and estimated reading time.
Word / Character / Line Counter
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Characters
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Chars (no spaces)
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Words
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Lines
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Sentences
0
Paragraphs
0s
Reading Time
Type or paste text above to see live stats.
What is counted
Words are counted by splitting on whitespace. Characters are counted both with and without spaces. Sentences are split on ., !, and ?. Paragraphs are split on double line breaks.
Reading time estimate
The estimated reading time uses 200 words per minute, which is a common average for online content. Technical or dense content is typically read at 150–180 wpm.
Use cases
Word Counter is useful for blog posts (SEO length targets), social media posts (character limits), academic writing (word count requirements), and documentation review.
How to use
- Type or paste your text into the input area.
- Word count, character count (with and without spaces), sentence count, paragraph count, and estimated reading time update live as you type.
- Use the stats to verify length requirements for blog posts, academic writing, or social media posts.
Examples
- Simple: Paste a blog post draft → the tool shows 847 words, 4,923 characters, and ~4 min read time instantly. Use this to hit your target word count before publishing.
- Developer workflow: Reviewing a README before publishing? Paste the full Markdown source to see total word count and estimated reading time — both useful signals for keeping documentation concise.
- Edge case: Code blocks count as words. If your document contains a lot of code snippets, the word count and reading time will be higher than the prose alone. Consider that when setting length targets.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How are words counted?
- Words are counted by splitting the text on whitespace. Any sequence of non-whitespace characters is treated as one word, matching the behaviour of most word processors.
- Does it count characters with or without spaces?
- Both. The tool shows "Characters" (total including spaces) and "Chars (no spaces)" (whitespace stripped), so you can use whichever figure your platform requires.
- How is reading time calculated?
- Reading time is estimated at 200 words per minute, a commonly used average for online reading. The result is rounded up to the nearest second.
- Is any text sent to a server?
- No. All counting happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Nothing you type is transmitted or stored anywhere.