What is a word counter?
A word counter analyzes a block of text and reports how many words, characters, sentences and paragraphs it contains, plus an estimate of how long it takes to read. This tool updates every count live as you type or paste, so you can hit an exact length target without leaving the page. Because it runs entirely in your browser, even very long documents are counted instantly and privately.
What each metric means
| Metric | How it is counted |
|---|---|
| Words | Sequences of non-space characters separated by whitespace. |
| Characters | Every character including spaces and line breaks. |
| Characters (no spaces) | All characters except whitespace — useful for tweets and SMS. |
| Sentences | Segments ending in a period, question mark or exclamation point. |
| Paragraphs | Blocks of text separated by blank lines. |
| Reading time | Estimated at an average 200 words per minute. |
Common length targets
- SEO title tag: aim for under 60 characters so it does not get truncated in search results.
- Meta description: 150–160 characters is the sweet spot.
- Tweet / X post: 280 characters maximum.
- College essay: often a strict word count — paste your draft to check it instantly.
FAQ
- How is reading time calculated?
- We divide the word count by 200, the average adult silent-reading speed, and round up to the nearest minute.
- Does it count hyphenated words as one or two?
- A hyphenated compound with no surrounding spaces, such as "well-known", counts as a single word.
- Is my text stored anywhere?
- No. All counting happens locally in your browser; nothing is uploaded.