Word Counter
Counts update as you type. Nothing is uploaded. The count runs in your browser.
- 0
- Words
- 0
- Characters
- 0
- Characters (no spaces)
- 0
- Sentences
- 0
- Paragraphs
- 0
- Lines
- 0
- Digits
- :
- Reading time (238 wpm)
The word counter reports six figures for whatever text you paste in: words, characters, characters excluding spaces, sentences, paragraphs, and an estimated reading time. Counting happens in your browser as you type, so there is no button to press and no upload step.
How it works
Each figure comes from a distinct rule, and the rules matter when your text contains hyphens, abbreviations or unusual spacing.
- Words: any unbroken run of non-whitespace characters counts as one word. "state-of-the-art" is one word, "don't" is one word, and extra spaces between words are ignored.
- Characters: every character in the box, including spaces, tabs and line breaks.
- Characters (no spaces): the same total with all whitespace removed.
- Sentences: a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark, or a run of them, followed by a space or the end of the text.
- Paragraphs: blocks of text separated by at least one blank line.
reading time = ceil(words / 238)
- 238
- words per minute, the mean silent reading rate for English non-fiction from Brysbaert's 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies
- ceil
- rounds up, so any non-empty text reads as at least 1 minute
Examples
A single sentence
Text
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Result
9 words · 44 characters · 36 without spaces · 1 sentence · 1 paragraph · 1 min
The full stop at the end of the text closes one sentence, and the 8 spaces account for the difference between the two character totals.
Two paragraphs
Text
She sent the draft on Monday. He replied the next morning. It needed work.
Result
14 words · 75 characters · 61 without spaces · 3 sentences · 2 paragraphs · 1 min
The blank line splits the text into two paragraphs, and the second paragraph contributes two of the three sentences.
Hyphens and apostrophes
Text
It's a state-of-the-art design.
Result
4 words · 31 characters · 28 without spaces · 1 sentence · 1 paragraph · 1 min
"It's" and "state-of-the-art" each count as a single word, because neither contains whitespace. Word processors that split on punctuation would report 7 here instead.
Limits worth knowing
Two limits are worth knowing before you rely on the figures for anything strict.
- Sentence detection reads punctuation literally, so abbreviations, decimals written as "3.5 kg" mid-sentence, and ellipses can all inflate the count.
- Paragraph detection needs a genuine blank line. Text that wraps visually, or uses single line breaks between paragraphs, counts as one paragraph.
Frequently asked questions
Does the word counter treat hyphenated words as one word or two?
One. The counter splits on whitespace only, so "state-of-the-art" counts once. Microsoft Word applies the same rule, but some editors split on the hyphen and would report four words for the same phrase.
Why is the sentence count higher than the number of sentences I wrote?
Abbreviations ending in a full stop are the usual cause. "Dr. Smith arrived at 9 a.m. She was late." reports three sentences rather than two, because the full stops after "Dr" and "a.m" are each followed by a space. There is no reliable way to tell an abbreviation from a sentence ending without a dictionary, so the counter takes the punctuation at face value.
Does the character count include spaces and line breaks?
The "Characters" figure counts everything you typed, including spaces, tabs and line breaks. The "Characters (no spaces)" figure strips all of those out. Social and SMS limits normally use the first figure.
What reading speed does the reading-time estimate assume?
238 words per minute, the mean silent reading rate for English non-fiction found in a 2019 meta-analysis by Marc Brysbaert. Reading aloud is considerably slower, around 150 words per minute, so double the estimate if you are timing a talk.
Is the text I paste in sent anywhere?
No. The counting runs entirely in your browser, and the text never leaves the page. There is no upload and no server request when you type.