Word Counter — Count Words, Characters & Reading Time Free
Count words, characters, sentences in real-time
Paste any text to instantly get word count, character count, sentence count, paragraph count, reading time (at 200 wpm), and speaking time.
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Words
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Characters
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Chars (no spaces)
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Sentences
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Paragraphs
1 min
Read Time
1 min
Speak Time
About Word Counter
A word counter provides instant statistics about a block of text: word count, character count (with and without spaces), sentence count, paragraph count, estimated reading time, and estimated speaking time. These metrics are essential for writers, editors, students, and content marketers who work within specific length constraints.
Word limits matter across many contexts: social media platforms enforce character limits (Twitter/X: 280 characters), academic institutions require minimum or maximum word counts for assignments, legal documents have prescribed length requirements, and SEO best practices recommend target content lengths for different content types. Having an accurate, real-time count eliminates guesswork.
Reading and speaking time estimates are particularly useful for content creators. A 1,000-word blog post takes approximately five minutes to read at average pace — matching this to your audience's attention span is an important publishing consideration. Speaking time is essential for preparing presentations, speeches, and podcast scripts to fit a defined slot.
Beyond journalism and academia, word counting is used for: checking SMS message length before sending, verifying email subject line length, preparing product descriptions that must fit within a character limit, analysing text complexity, and tracking progress toward writing goals. Text is processed locally in your browser — your content is never transmitted or stored.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time is estimated at 200 words per minute, which is the average silent reading speed for an adult. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute, reflecting a comfortable presentation pace.
How are words counted?
Words are counted by splitting text on whitespace and filtering out empty tokens. Hyphenated words (e.g., "well-known") count as one word. Numbers and abbreviations also count as individual words.
Does character count include spaces?
Two counts are provided: characters with spaces (total keystrokes) and characters without spaces (useful for character-limited fields that do not count spaces, like some social media platforms).
Is there a word or character limit?
No. You can paste any length of text — from a tweet to an entire book chapter — and receive instant statistics.