Word and character counter
Words, characters, sentences and paragraphs in any text.
Calculator inputs
Results
Enter your values and press “Calculate” to see the result.
In short
- What it calculates
- Words, characters, sentences and paragraphs in any text.
- Formula used
Words per sentence = words ÷ sentences- Example
- An article of 1,200 words in 60 sentences:
Word counter
Paste your text and get an instant count of words, characters, sentences and paragraphs, plus the estimated reading time.
The analysis runs in your browser: the text is never sent to a server or stored anywhere.
How it works
A word is any group of characters separated by spaces. Sentences are delimited by full stops, question marks and exclamation marks, and paragraphs by blank lines.
Formula
Words per sentence = words ÷ sentences
Reading time = words ÷ 200 words per minute
Worked example
An article of 1,200 words in 60 sentences:
Words per sentence: 20
Reading time: about 6 minutes
Explanation
Why two counters give different figures
There is no universal definition of a word. Hyphens are the clearest case: 'socio-political' may count as one or as two. Numerals, abbreviations with full stops, email addresses and emoji are handled differently by different tools. Differences of one or two per cent between programs are normal, and none of them is wrong.
Limits worth keeping to hand
A page title performs better under about 60 characters, and a meta description between 120 and 155. A post on X allows 280 characters. An academic abstract usually asks for 150 to 250 words. A double-spaced printed page runs to about 250 words, and single-spaced around 500.
Characters with and without spaces
Translation and proofreading are billed by words or by characters, and whether spaces count can make a fifteen per cent difference. Before accepting a quote, find out which of the two figures is being used.
Reading time
An adult reads between 200 and 250 words a minute in their native language. That is the basis of those 'five minute read' labels, which come from dividing the total by that figure.
Frequently asked questions
Is my text sent to a server?
No. Counting happens entirely in your browser with JavaScript, and the text is neither stored nor transmitted.
How many words fit on a page?
With standard type and double spacing, around 250 words per page; single spaced, closer to 500.
How long does a text take to read?
At 200 to 250 words a minute for an adult in their native language. A thousand-word text takes four to five minutes.
Does “socio-political” count as two words?
It depends on the tool. Here hyphenated words count as one, which is the most widespread convention in copy-editing.
Need to calculate something else?
These tools are often used alongside this calculator.
Character count
Characters with and without spaces, lines and bytes in a text.
Reading time
How long a text takes to read, silently or aloud.
Change case
Turn text into uppercase, lowercase, title case, snake_case or camelCase.
Keyword density
How often your keyword appears and how much weight it carries.