How does the word counter count words?

Any group of characters separated by spaces or line breaks counts as one word, as long as it contains at least one letter or number. Hyphenated words like "well-known" and contractions like "don't" count as one word, numbers count as words, and stray punctuation such as a lone dash is ignored. This matches how Microsoft Word and Google Docs count words in most cases.

Does it count characters with or without spaces?

Both. The tool shows the total character count including spaces and line breaks, and a separate count without any whitespace. Most platforms, including X, Instagram, and Google search snippets, use the count with spaces.

How is reading time calculated?

Reading time assumes an average silent reading speed of 238 words per minute, the figure from a 2019 meta-analysis of adult reading studies. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute, a typical pace for presentations and speeches.

What is keyword density and what is a good percentage?

Keyword density is how often a word or phrase appears compared to the total word count. Switch between 1, 2, and 3 word phrases to see your most repeated terms. There is no official ideal number, but if one phrase goes far above 2 to 3 percent the text usually reads as repetitive, so it is a useful check against keyword stuffing.

How many pages is my word count?

With 12 point Times New Roman and 1 inch margins, a double-spaced page holds about 250 words and a single-spaced page about 500 words. The page estimate in the Details panel uses these figures, so 1,000 words is about 4 pages double-spaced or 2 pages single-spaced.

Can I count words in only part of my text?

Yes. Highlight any part of the text with your mouse or keyboard and a badge above the text box shows the word and character count of just that selection.

Does Word Counter save or upload my text?

Your text is never uploaded. Everything runs in your browser, and the text is only saved in your own browser storage so it is still there if you refresh the page. Click Clear to remove it.

Word Counter

About Word Counter

The Word Counter instantly shows word count, character count (with and without spaces), sentence count, paragraph count, and estimated reading time for any text you paste, type, or upload as a .txt file. All statistics update live as you type, with no count button to click. Beyond the basics, it shows speaking time, unique words, line count, average word and sentence length, the longest word, and an estimated page count. A keyword density table lists the most frequent single words and two or three word phrases with their percentage of the text, skipping filler words like "the" and "and". Character limit bars show at a glance whether your text fits an X post, a Google meta title or meta description, an SMS, a Google Ads headline, a YouTube title, an Instagram caption, or a LinkedIn post. Set a word count goal to track progress on an essay or article, and select any part of the text to count just that selection. Your text is saved in your own browser so it survives a page refresh, and it is never uploaded to a server. For deeper analysis, Readability Score grades how easy your text is to read, Words to Pages Converter converts the word count to pages in any font and spacing, and Character Counter puts character limits and letter counts first.

Writers, students, and SEO professionals all have length targets to hit. Blog posts that aim to rank in search often run 1,500 words or more, college essays usually come with a minimum or maximum word count, and social platforms cut text off at a fixed number of characters. The common platform limits are 280 characters for a standard X post, about 60 characters for a Google title before it gets truncated, about 155 to 160 characters for a meta description, 30 characters for a Google Ads headline, 100 characters for a YouTube title, 2,200 characters for an Instagram caption, and 3,000 characters for a LinkedIn post. A single SMS holds 160 standard characters, or 70 when the message contains emoji or other Unicode characters; longer messages are split into segments of 153 or 67 characters. For academic writing, a double-spaced page in 12 point Times New Roman holds roughly 250 words and a single-spaced page roughly 500 words, so a 5 page double-spaced essay needs about 1,250 words. Sentences are counted at each period, exclamation mark, question mark, or ellipsis followed by a space or the end of the text, so decimals like 3.5 do not split a sentence. Paragraphs are separated by blank lines. When you are done counting, Meta Tag Generator turns a title and description into ready-to-paste HTML, and Whitespace Remover cleans up extra spaces and empty lines.

How to use Word Counter

Type, paste, or upload a .txt file into the text box
Words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, and reading time update live
Check keyword density and the character limits for each platform
Set a word count goal and track your progress as you write

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the word counter count words?: Any group of characters separated by spaces or line breaks counts as one word, as long as it contains at least one letter or number. Hyphenated words like "well-known" and contractions like "don't" count as one word, numbers count as words, and stray punctuation such as a lone dash is ignored. This matches how Microsoft Word and Google Docs count words in most cases.
Does it count characters with or without spaces?: Both. The tool shows the total character count including spaces and line breaks, and a separate count without any whitespace. Most platforms, including X, Instagram, and Google search snippets, use the count with spaces.
How is reading time calculated?: Reading time assumes an average silent reading speed of 238 words per minute, the figure from a 2019 meta-analysis of adult reading studies. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute, a typical pace for presentations and speeches.
What is keyword density and what is a good percentage?: Keyword density is how often a word or phrase appears compared to the total word count. Switch between 1, 2, and 3 word phrases to see your most repeated terms. There is no official ideal number, but if one phrase goes far above 2 to 3 percent the text usually reads as repetitive, so it is a useful check against keyword stuffing.
How many pages is my word count?: With 12 point Times New Roman and 1 inch margins, a double-spaced page holds about 250 words and a single-spaced page about 500 words. The page estimate in the Details panel uses these figures, so 1,000 words is about 4 pages double-spaced or 2 pages single-spaced.
Can I count words in only part of my text?: Yes. Highlight any part of the text with your mouse or keyboard and a badge above the text box shows the word and character count of just that selection.
Does Word Counter save or upload my text?: Your text is never uploaded. Everything runs in your browser, and the text is only saved in your own browser storage so it is still there if you refresh the page. Click Clear to remove it.

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Read our guide: In-depth guide for Word Counter