How the counts work
Word counters disagree more than you might expect, because each one has its own idea of a word. This page follows the rule Microsoft Word uses: a word is a run of characters between spaces that contains at least one letter or digit. That keeps the count close to what a teacher, an editor or a publisher will see when they open your file. A number such as 3.5 or ₹1,50,000 is one word. Hyphenated words such as well-known and short forms such as e.g. are one word. A dash or a bullet standing on its own between spaces is not a word at all.
Characters are counted the way a reader sees them. An emoji built from several pieces, such as a family or a thumbs up with a skin tone, counts as one character, and so does a Hindi letter with its vowel sign. Spaces and line breaks are included in the main character count because that is how text boxes, messages and social posts measure their limits. The second figure leaves out every space and line break for guidelines that ask for characters without spaces.
Sentences are counted at full stops, question marks, exclamation marks and the Hindi danda when a space or a line break follows. A decimal point inside 3.5 does not end a sentence, but an abbreviation such as Dr. followed by a name does, so treat the sentence count as a close guide rather than an exact figure. Paragraphs are the lines that contain text, which is how Word counts them too.
Reading time and speaking time
Reading time is the word count divided by a reading speed. The default of 238 words a minute comes from a 2019 review of 190 reading studies by the psychologist Marc Brysbaert, which put the average silent reading rate for English non-fiction at that figure and fiction at 260. Readers going through dense or technical text, or reading in a second language, go slower, so lower the speed for a legal summary or a lesson and raise it for a light blog post.
Speaking time works the same way with a speaking pace. People talk at very different speeds, so the default of 140 words a minute is only a starting point for a calm talk. The quickest way to find your own pace is to read one paragraph from this box aloud at your normal speed, time it, and divide the word count by the minutes it took. Put that number in the speaking box and the estimate for a speech, a video script or a presentation becomes your own.
Character limits worth knowing
- X posts: 280 characters on a standard account. X counts every link as 23 characters and counts Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters and many emoji as two, so a post near the limit can read differently there.
- Text messages: 160 characters in one message when every character is in the basic GSM alphabet, and 153 per part once a message is split. A single character outside that alphabet, including Hindi script, most emoji and curly quotes copied from a word processor, switches the message to Unicode, which holds 70 characters, or 67 per part. The SMS line shows which one your text needs.
- Search result descriptions: search engines trim the description under a result by its width on screen, not by a fixed count. Around 155 characters is a common target that usually shows in full.
- YouTube titles: up to 100 characters. Instagram captions: up to 2,200 characters.
Using the most used words list
The list shows words you have used more than once, with how often and what share of all your words they make up. With common words left out, it becomes a quick check for repetition. If one word appears far more often than the rest, try a synonym or rephrase a sentence. It also works the other way for web pages: the topic you want a page to rank for should appear naturally, without being stuffed into every sentence.
Your text stays private
Everything on this page runs in your browser. The text you type or paste is not uploaded, not stored and not sent to the analytics on this site, so drafts, assignments and confidential notes are safe to paste. Close or reload the tab and the text is gone. The only things kept on your device are the two speed settings and the common words choice.
Questions people ask
How does this counter decide what a word is?
A word is any run of characters between spaces that contains at least one letter or digit. That is the rule Microsoft Word uses, so e.g., 3.5 and well-known count as one word each, and a dash standing on its own is not counted. Chinese and Japanese are written without spaces, so each of their characters counts as one word.
Does it count spaces as characters?
Both numbers are shown. Characters includes spaces and line breaks, which is how X, SMS and most forms count a limit. Characters without spaces leaves out every space, tab and line break, which some essay guidelines ask for.
How is reading time worked out?
Word count divided by a reading speed. The default is 238 words a minute, the average silent reading rate for English non-fiction found in a 2019 review of 190 studies by Marc Brysbaert. Fiction is read a little faster and technical text slower, so change the speed if you know your readers.
Why does the SMS line say Unicode and fewer characters per message?
A text message holds 160 characters only when every character is in the basic GSM alphabet. One character outside it, such as a Hindi letter, most emoji or a curly quote pasted from a word processor, switches the whole message to Unicode, which holds 70 characters, or 67 per part when the message is split.
Is my text saved or sent anywhere?
No. The counting runs in your browser as you type. The text is not uploaded, not stored and not shared with the analytics on this site. Close or reload the tab and it is gone. Only the reading speeds you set are remembered on your device.
Why does X show a different count from this page?
X weighs characters. Every link counts as 23 characters whatever its length, and Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters and many emoji count as two. This page counts each character once, so for a post close to 280 characters, check the count X shows before posting.
Can I count words in a PDF or a Word file?
Open the file, select all the text, copy it and paste it into the box. Page numbers, headers and footnotes come along with the paste, so the total can be a little higher than the body text alone.