Count words the way editors and platforms do
Word and character limits show up everywhere — a meta description that must stay under 160 characters, an essay with a 500-word minimum, a tweet, an abstract, a bio field that silently truncates. Counting by eye is slow and unreliable, especially once punctuation and line breaks are involved. This tool updates the totals as you type, so you can write toward a target instead of pasting into a form and hoping it fits.
How to use it
- Type or paste your text into the box.
- Read the live counts for words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs.
- Use the estimated reading time to judge whether a piece is the right length for its audience.
What the numbers mean
- Characters include spaces, which is what most form limits count.
- Words are runs of non-space characters, matching how most editors tally them.
- Reading time assumes an average adult pace of a few hundred words per minute — a guide, not a stopwatch.
Questions people ask
Does it match Microsoft Word's count? Very closely. Tiny differences can appear around hyphenated terms or numbers, which different programs split differently.
Is my text stored anywhere? No. Counting happens in your browser as you type; nothing is sent or saved.
Can I count a specific selection? Paste only the part you want to measure — the totals reflect whatever is in the box.