Word and Character Counter

Paste your text. See words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, reading time, and speaking time update as you type. Nothing leaves your browser.

  • Live
  • Private
  • No signup
  • Free
  • 0Words
  • 0Characters
  • 0No spaces
  • 0Sentences
  • 0Paragraphs
  • 0mReading time
  • 0mSpeaking time

How to use it

Paste or type in the box above. The counts update live: words, characters (with and without spaces), sentences, paragraphs, reading time, and speaking time. Copy the summary, share a link, or clear and start again.

What each count means

Words are whitespace-separated tokens. Contractions and hyphenated words count as one. Characters counts every character; the second chip strips spaces for platforms that ignore them. Sentences splits on period, question mark, and exclamation. Paragraphs counts blocks separated by a blank line. Reading time uses 250 words per minute. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute.

Platform character limits

Every platform counts a little differently. Pick the counter that matches where you are posting.

Twitter

280 characters

Live count with a URL rule (t.co shortens every URL to 23 chars).

Instagram

2,200 characters

Caption limit for feed posts. Bio has its own counter (150).

LinkedIn

3,000 characters

Feed post limit. Headline counter (220) is a separate tool.

SEO

Meta title, 60

Google truncates by pixel width, not character count.

Essay word count guides

Guide

Essay word counts, every type

Common App, TOK, extended essay, college essay: real word counts and the rule behind each.

How-to

Count words in a PDF

Three ways to get a word count out of a text-layer PDF or a scanned one.

Reference

Words per page tables

12pt, 11pt, single or double spaced. How many words fit on one page, on ten.

Related counters

Files

PDF page counter

Drop a PDF. See the page count without uploading it anywhere.

Social

Twitter (280)

Live 280 count. URLs count as 23 characters via t.co.

Social

Instagram caption (2,200)

Caption limit with color-coded feedback as you type.

Social

LinkedIn post (3,000)

Feed post character limit.

SEO

Meta title (60)

SERP title tag character count.

SEO

Meta description (160)

SERP snippet description character count.

Common questions

How does the counter work?

Everything runs in your browser. The text never leaves your device.

What counts as a word?

Whitespace-separated tokens. Contractions and hyphenated words count as one.

Why does the character count show two numbers?

Some platforms count spaces toward their limit (Twitter, SMS), some ignore them. The counter shows both.

Can I count words in a PDF?

Yes. Use the PDF page counter for a page and word count.

Is my text saved anywhere?

No. Nothing leaves your browser. Close the tab and it is gone.