Count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs as you type, check a character limit, and see estimated reading and speaking time.
Everything runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or saved.
Words are counted by splitting your text on whitespace, so a hyphenated word such as "well-known" counts as one word. Characters are counted both including and excluding spaces, so you can check against limits that count either way. Characters are counted as the symbols you see, so an emoji counts as one character. Sentences are counted by splitting on periods, question marks, and exclamation points that are followed by a space or the end of the text, which keeps decimals like 3.14 from being counted as sentence breaks. Paragraphs are blocks of text separated by a blank line.
The tool also estimates reading time at 200 words per minute, a common average for silent reading, and speaking time at 130 words per minute, a typical pace for a speech or presentation. It shows the number of unique words, the average word length, the average number of words per sentence, your longest word, and the word you use most. If you enter a character limit, it shows how many characters you have left, or by how much you have gone over.
The sample text preloaded above has two short paragraphs with 35 words in total. It comes out to 216 characters with spaces, 181 characters without spaces, 2 sentences, and 2 paragraphs. That is an average of 17.5 words per sentence. At 200 words per minute it takes about 11 seconds to read, and at 130 words per minute about 16 seconds to say out loud. There are 34 unique words, because "and" appears twice, and the longest word is "characters".
Many places cap how much you can write, and the limits differ. These commonly cited figures are a useful starting point, but platforms change their rules, so check the current limit before you publish:
In ordinary English prose, a word averages about 4.7 letters, or about 5.7 characters once you count the space after it. We measured this on almost 50,000 words of our own articles. So to turn a character count into words, divide by about 5.7. Text with long technical words comes out lower, and simple writing with short words comes out higher, so treat these as estimates:
Going the other way, multiply words by about 5.7: a 300-word answer is roughly 1,700 characters with spaces. For an exact count, paste your text into the counter above, which shows characters with and without spaces.
At 200 words per minute, a 1,000-word article takes about 5 minutes to read and a 2,000-word article about 10. A 650-word essay takes just over 3 minutes to read. Speaking is slower than reading. At 130 words per minute, 1,000 words takes about 7.7 minutes to say, and a 5-minute speech needs roughly 650 words, or 750 if you speak at 150 words per minute. Real times depend on the difficulty of the text and on the reader.
Once your text is the right length, the Text Case Converter can switch it between UPPERCASE, lowercase, Title Case, and more. If you need to work out percentages, such as how much a draft has been shortened, use the Percentage Calculator.
Does this tool store or send my text anywhere?
No. All counting happens directly in your browser using JavaScript. Nothing is uploaded, saved, or sent anywhere.
How is reading time calculated?
It divides your word count by 200, a commonly used average for silent adult reading speed. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute. Faster or slower readers, and denser or simpler text, will take more or less time in practice.
Why are there two character counts?
Some limits (like certain form fields or older SMS rules) count every character including spaces, while others effectively ignore whitespace. Showing both means you can check against whichever limit applies to you.
How are paragraphs counted?
A paragraph is any block of text separated from the next by a blank line (a double line break). Single line breaks within a block do not start a new paragraph.
Can sentence counting be inaccurate?
Somewhat. The tool counts a period, question mark, or exclamation point as the end of a sentence only when it is followed by a space or the end of the text, so decimals like 3.14 are handled correctly. Abbreviations such as "Mr. Smith" can still be counted as sentence breaks, so treat the count as a close estimate for text with many abbreviations.
Is there a limit to how much text I can paste in?
No hard limit, but very large amounts of text, tens of thousands of words, may cause a brief lag as the counts recalculate on every keystroke, since it is a browser-based tool.
Can I use this to check social media character limits?
Yes. Enter the limit, or pick a preset, and the character count (with spaces) shows how many characters you have left. Keep in mind some platforms count links, mentions, or emoji differently than a simple character count, so treat it as a close estimate near the limit.
How many words fit on a page?
It depends on the font, size, and spacing, but a common rule of thumb is about 500 words for a single-spaced page and 250 to 300 words for a double-spaced page. A 1,500-word paper is therefore around 5 or 6 double-spaced pages.
How many words is 500 characters?
About 88 words, using the roughly 5.7 characters per word (including the space after it) that ordinary English prose averages. Short, simple words push the count higher; long or technical words push it lower.
How many words is 1,000 characters?
About 175 words on average. The exact number depends on word length, so paste your own text into the counter above for a precise count rather than relying on the average.