Free Online Word Counter
Free online word counter to count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs instantly. Fast, simple and easy to use.
How it works
- Type or paste your text into the editor.
- Watch words, characters, sentences and paragraphs update as you type.
- Use the counts to hit essay, article or social media limits.
Frequently asked questions
How does the word counter define a word?
A word is any group of characters separated by spaces or line breaks. Hyphenated words such as "well-known" and contractions such as "don't" count as one word, which matches how most teachers and editors count.
Why does my word processor show a slightly different count?
Tools treat edge cases differently. Here, a symbol standing on its own between spaces — such as "&" or a spaced em dash — counts as a word, while some word processors skip it. Differences of a few words on long documents are normal.
Is there a limit on how much text I can paste?
You can paste long documents such as full essays and reports. Everything is counted in your browser, so very large texts depend only on your device's memory.
Is my writing saved or uploaded?
No. The text you type stays in your browser and disappears when you close or clear the page.
Word Counter
This free word counter makes it easy to see how many words are contained in your text. It is useful for essays, articles, assignments, blog posts, social media content, emails and other writing where word count matters.
What does this word counter measure?
- Words — Counts the words in your text.
- Characters — Counts every character, including spaces.
- Characters without spaces — Counts characters while excluding whitespace.
- Sentences — Counts sentences based on sentence-ending punctuation.
- Paragraphs — Counts separate blocks of text.
- Reading time — Estimates how long it takes to read the text at approximately 200 words per minute.
Why is word count important?
Many types of writing have recommended or required word limits. Students may need to meet an assignment requirement, writers may want to keep an article within a target length, and social media posts often have character limitations.
Instead of manually counting your text, simply paste it into the counter above and the statistics are calculated instantly.
Is my text stored?
No. The counting happens directly in your browser. Your text does not need to be uploaded to a server for the counter to work.