Word Counter
Paste or type text below to see a live count of words, characters, and more.
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Words
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Characters
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Characters (no spaces)
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Sentences
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Paragraphs
0 min
Reading time
How to use this tool
Type or paste text into the box; every count updates as you type. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere, so paste a draft, check it, and clear it.
How the counts are made
- Words are the pieces between spaces or line breaks that contain at least one letter or digit, in any script. "Well-known", "12.5%" and a web address each count as one; a dash standing on its own between spaces doesn't count.
- Characters are JavaScript string length, spaces included, and Characters (no spaces) leaves out spaces, tabs and line breaks. Most emoji count as 2, and the vowel signs in Hindi or Gujarati count separately, so नमस्ते is 6.
- Sentences use your browser's built-in sentence splitter, which doesn't end a sentence at a decimal point or at "e.g.", and does end one at the Hindi danda (।). Titles such as Dr., Mr., Smt. and Shri. are recognised too.
- Paragraphs are blocks separated by line breaks, and reading time is the word count divided by 238, rounded up to whole minutes.
Worked example
"Dr. Rao reached at 5 p.m. and left." is 8 words and 1 sentence, although it has four full stops. "Rates — as noted — rose by 12.5% (see https://example.com/report)." is 8 words and 1 sentence: the two dashes are left out, and the address counts as a single word. "मेरा नाम आशा है। मैं पुणे में रहती हूँ।" is 9 words and 2 sentences.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my essay word count here differ slightly from Word or Google Docs?
Each program has its own rules for things like dashes between spaces, numbers with symbols and web addresses, so counts can differ by a few words on the same text. When a limit is enforced, check the count in the program the reader will use; this page's rules are listed above so you can see where a difference comes from.
Does a character limit count spaces?
It depends on who sets the limit, so read the instruction: forms that say "characters including spaces" match the Characters box, and "without spaces" matches the second one. Most emoji count as 2 here, which is also how a web form with a maxlength limit measures them.
How is reading time estimated?
Reading time uses 238 words per minute, the average that a 2019 review of 190 studies by Marc Brysbaert (Journal of Memory and Language) found for adults silently reading English non-fiction; most readers in those studies fell between 175 and 300. Dense technical text and reading in a second language are slower, so treat it as a rough guide.
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