Online word counter

This online word counter updates while you write. Use it for a draft, an assignment, a description, or a message with a length limit. It reports words and characters separately because a word limit and a character limit are different constraints.

What counts as a word?

Modern browsers identify word-like segments, including words and numbers. Punctuation and standalone emoji do not add words. Contractions such as “don’t” usually count as one; hyphenated terms such as “well-written” count as two. The tool uses English segmentation rules, while its browser implementation can also identify boundaries in some writing systems without spaces.

Different editors and submission systems can use different rules, particularly for numbers, hyphens, addresses and languages. If a form enforces a limit, its own count is the final check.

Characters and whitespace

The character count uses visual text symbols, also called grapheme clusters. An accented letter written with a combining mark or a combined family emoji can be one symbol even when it contains several Unicode code points. “Without whitespace” removes spaces, tabs and line breaks before counting. It is not a byte count or a guarantee of a social platform’s length calculation.

Older browsers without text segmentation use basic word matching and code-point character counts; a note above the tool identifies that fallback. See MDN’s text segmentation reference for how browser boundaries work.

Reading time uses your chosen pace

Estimated seconds = words ÷ words per minute × 60. At the example setting of 200 words per minute, 400 words take about two minutes. Change the rate to suit your own pace. This is arithmetic, not a measurement of your reading ability: names, unfamiliar material, pauses and rereading all affect the time.

Count a selection

Select a sentence or paragraph inside the text field to see its word count beneath your writing. The main totals still describe the complete text. Copy counts exports the totals and reading-time assumption, without including your writing.

Lines are not paragraphs

Every line break adds a line, including empty lines. A paragraph is a nonempty block separated from another by a blank line. A single line break inside a block does not start another paragraph. An empty input has zero lines and paragraphs.

For example, “One two.” followed by a blank line and “Three.” has three words, two paragraphs and three lines. Clear empties the input; reloading also removes it. There is no saved history, grammar service, or upload.