How does the counter treat hyphenated words and contractions?

Each counts as one word, so well-known and don't are one apiece, and a number such as 100,000 or 3.14 is one word too. A dash or symbol standing alone between spaces also counts as a word, so the total can run slightly above a count of letters-only words.

Why does a short text show a reading time of one minute?

The estimate is rounded to whole minutes and never drops below one minute once the box has text. At 238 words per minute it moves from one minute to two at about 357 words. Speaking time works the same way at 130 words per minute.

Does the character count include spaces?

Characters counts everything you typed, spaces and line breaks included. The No spaces card removes all whitespace first. Both count what a reader sees as a character, so an emoji or an accented letter counts once.

Is my text uploaded to be counted?

No. Counting happens in your browser as you type, nothing is sent to a server, and there is no download step, so no account is involved. Reloading the page clears the box.

Word Counter

Popular

Count words, characters, sentences and get reading time.

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About Word Counter

Essays, product descriptions and social posts all come with a length target. Paste or type into the box and eight figures update on every keystroke: words, characters, characters without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, reading time, speaking time and average word length. Hyphenated words, contractions and numbers such as 3.14 count once, and an emoji counts as one character. The text is never uploaded, which makes the tool suitable for drafts you have not published.

Features

Eight live figures, from words and characters to average word length
Emoji and accented letters count as single characters
Hyphenated words, contractions and grouped numbers such as 100,000 count as one word
Chinese, Japanese and Thai text is split into words by the browser's word segmenter
Runs in the browser, with no download step

Limitations

Reading time uses 238 words per minute and speaking time 130, rounded to whole minutes, with a minimum of one minute once there is any text.
Sentences are counted from a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark followed by a space or the end of the text, so an abbreviation such as Dr. adds an extra sentence.
Paragraphs are blocks separated by a blank line; a single line break does not start a new one.

How it works

Paste or type your text into the box; the figures stay at zero until you do.
Read Words first, then Characters and No spaces if you are working to a character limit.
Check Sentences and Paragraphs to see how the text is structured.
Use Reading time and Speaking time to plan a read-through or a talk.
Press Reset to clear the box and start again.

Example input

Paste any text — a blog draft, an essay, an email — to see its word count, character count, and estimated reading time instantly.

Frequently asked questions

: Each counts as one word, so well-known and don't are one apiece, and a number such as 100,000 or 3.14 is one word too. A dash or symbol standing alone between spaces also counts as a word, so the total can run slightly above a count of letters-only words.
: The estimate is rounded to whole minutes and never drops below one minute once the box has text. At 238 words per minute it moves from one minute to two at about 357 words. Speaking time works the same way at 130 words per minute.
: Characters counts everything you typed, spaces and line breaks included. The No spaces card removes all whitespace first. Both count what a reader sees as a character, so an emoji or an accented letter counts once.
: No. Counting happens in your browser as you type, nothing is sent to a server, and there is no download step, so no account is involved. Reloading the page clears the box.

Related guides

Word Counter vs. Keyword Density CheckerBasic text stats vs. phrase-frequency analysis — the second includes the first.