Tools
Word counter
Count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs and estimate reading time.
About this tool
Paste or type any text and you will see straight away how many words, characters, sentences and paragraphs it has. Use it to stay within the limit of an essay, a grant application or a web form, to check the length of a blog post before it goes live, or to see whether a press release has run long. It also estimates how long the text takes to read and to say out loud.
Type straight into the text box or paste from Word, Google Docs or any web page. The main figures sit at the top and update with every keystroke; underneath you get characters without spaces, lines, and reading and speaking times. Press “Copy stats” to put every figure on your clipboard, ready to drop into a report, and “Clear” to start again.
Everything is counted in your browser: the text is never uploaded or stored, so it is safe to use with confidential documents. Accented letters and words in other languages are handled properly, and stray punctuation such as dashes does not count as a word. It does not check spelling or grammar, and formatted text is counted as plain text.
Frequently asked questions
How does this tool count words?
Every run of letters or digits counts as a word, including hyphenated words and contractions such as “well-known” or “don’t”. Stray symbols like a dash or a quotation mark on their own are not counted.
How many words are on a page?
It depends on font size and spacing, but a single-spaced page in 12-point type usually holds 450 to 550 words; double-spaced, roughly half that.
Will I get the same count as Microsoft Word?
For most texts the numbers match or differ only slightly. Small differences can appear with numbers, web addresses or isolated symbols, because each program uses slightly different rules.
Is my text saved anywhere?
No. It is all worked out on your device, and the text disappears when you close or reload the page.