Word Counter

Type or paste any text to see its word count, character count with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, reading time and speaking time, updated as you type. Check it against common limits like an X post, a Google title or an Etsy listing title, and see which words you use most. The counting happens in your browser, so your text is never sent anywhere.

What counts as a word, and why counters disagree

Paste the same paragraph into three word counters and you can get three different answers. The difference is almost always in the edge cases: whether well-known is one word or two, whether a number like 2,500 counts, and what happens to an emoji or a lone dash. This counter treats a word as a run of letters or numbers, keeps hyphenated words and contractions together, and ignores punctuation on its own. That matches how teachers, publishers and most forms count.

Characters: the number most limits actually use

Social posts, marketplace titles and search results limit characters, not words, and almost all of them count spaces. An emoji or an accented letter is counted here as one character, the way you see it. A few platforms count differently: X counts every link as 23 characters and some emoji as two, so treat the X bar as a close guide rather than a guarantee.

• Page titles: about 60 characters before Google cuts them off.
• Meta descriptions: about 160 characters.
• Etsy listing titles: up to 140 characters, and the first few words matter most in search.
• SMS: 160 characters per message. Longer texts are split into several.

Reading time and speaking time

Reading time uses 238 words per minute, the average silent reading speed for adults reading non-fiction. Speaking time uses 150 words per minute, which is the pace most people settle into for a presentation, a video script or a speech. A five-minute talk is therefore roughly 750 words.

Most used words

The list ignores filler words such as the, and and with, so what is left shows what your text is really about. If one word takes up more than about 3% of a short piece, readers tend to notice the repetition. For search, it is a quick check that the phrase you want to be found for actually appears.

What it does

• Words, characters with and without spaces, sentences and paragraphs
• Reading time and speaking time
• Limit bars for X posts, SMS, Google titles and descriptions, Etsy titles, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube
• Your own limit in words or characters
• Most used words with keyword density, ignoring filler words
• Counts emoji and accented letters as one character each, and works with most languages
• Your text never leaves your device

Questions

Is my text sent anywhere?

No. The counting is done by your browser as you type. Nothing you type or paste is sent to our server or stored.

How are words counted?

A word is a run of letters or numbers. Hyphenated words like well-known and contractions like don't count as one word. Punctuation, emoji and symbols on their own are not words.

Do spaces count as characters?

It depends on the site. Most, including X and Etsy, count spaces, so the main character count includes them. The count without spaces is shown next to it for forms that ask for that.

How is reading time worked out?

Reading time assumes 238 words per minute, the average for adults reading non-fiction silently. Speaking time assumes 150 words per minute, a comfortable pace for a talk or video.

How many characters can an X post have?

280 characters for a standard account. Links count as 23 characters however long they are, and some emoji count as two, so X's own counter can differ slightly for posts with links or emoji.

How long should a page title and meta description be?

Google shows roughly 50 to 60 characters of a title and around 150 to 160 characters of a description before cutting it off. Keep the important words at the start of both.

What is keyword density?

How often a word appears compared to the total number of words. Common filler words like the and and are left out so the list shows the words your text is really about.

Is it free?

Yes, completely free, with no sign-up and no limit on how much text you count.

More

Privacy policy · Support · Changelog