About this word counter
This free word counter gives you an instant, comprehensive breakdown of any text. Unlike basic word counters, it tracks words, characters (with and without spaces), sentences, paragraphs, unique words, reading time, speaking time, and an estimated page count — all updating in real time as you type or paste.
Who uses a word counter?
Students and academics use word counters to hit essay targets and stay within assignment limits. Most university submissions require a specific word count, and knowing your running total prevents last-minute surprises.
Writers and authors track word count to gauge chapter length, novel progress, and daily writing goals. The industry standard for a novel is 80,000–100,000 words; a short story typically runs 1,000–7,500.
Content marketers and SEO writers use word count to hit the recommended length for blog posts. Research consistently shows that long-form content of 1,500–2,500 words tends to rank higher in Google search results.
Social media managers need character counts for platform limits — Twitter/X enforces 280 characters, LinkedIn posts perform best under 1,300, and Instagram captions cut off after 125 characters in the feed.
How is speaking time calculated?
Speaking time is estimated at 130 words per minute, which reflects the average conversational speaking pace. Presentations and speeches typically run at 100–150 WPM depending on the speaker and subject matter. Reading time uses 238 WPM, the median silent reading speed for adults.
How are pages estimated?
The page estimate assumes a standard academic format: 12pt Times New Roman, double-spaced, with standard 1-inch margins — the default for most essay submissions. This works out to approximately 250 words per page. Single-spaced at 12pt runs approximately 500 words per page.
Frequently asked questions
Does this tool work offline?
Yes — once the page has loaded, all counting happens entirely in your browser with no internet connection required. Your text is never sent to any server.
What counts as a word?
Any sequence of characters separated by a space or punctuation. Hyphenated words like "well-being" count as one word. Numbers count as words. URLs count as one word regardless of length.
How accurate is the character count?
The character count is exact — it counts every character including spaces, punctuation, and line breaks. The "without spaces" count removes all space characters. This matches how platforms like Twitter count characters.
Why does my word processor give a different count?
Minor differences are common between tools. Microsoft Word and Google Docs handle edge cases like hyphenated words, footnotes, and text boxes differently. For most purposes the counts will be within 1–2% of each other.
Is there a word limit?
No limit — paste as much text as you like. The tool handles anything from a single sentence to a full novel manuscript. Very large texts (100,000+ words) may take a second to process on older devices.