Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs in any text. Estimate reading time. Useful for essays, articles, social media posts, and any writing with length requirements.
Part of our Student Calculators collection.
Word Counter
Free online calculator
Supports any length of text
Average adult reads ~200 wpm
Results update automatically as you type
How to Use This Calculator
- 1
Paste or type your text into the box.
- 2
Word count, character count, and reading time update instantly.
- 3
Adjust reading speed if needed (average adult: ~200 wpm).
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Use the character count (no spaces) for social media character limits.
How Counts Are Calculated
Words: Split on whitespace, filter empty strings Characters: text.length (includes spaces) Chars (no spaces): text.replace(/\s/g, '').length Sentences: Count '.', '!', '?' occurrences Paragraphs: Split on double newline Reading time: word count / reading speed (minutes)
Example Calculation
Example: A 250-word essay paragraph
Inputs
text: Sample 250-word text...readingSpeed: 200
Result
250 words | 1,450 characters | ~1 min 15 sec reading time
250 words ÷ 200 wpm = 1.25 minutes reading time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are common word count requirements?
Twitter/X: 280 characters. LinkedIn post: 3,000 characters. College essay (Common App): 650 words. Typical blog post: 1,500–2,500 words. Academic abstract: 150–300 words. Novel: 80,000–100,000 words.
How long does it take to read 1,000 words?
At an average reading speed of 200 wpm, 1,000 words takes about 5 minutes. Speed readers (400 wpm) would take 2.5 minutes. Slow readers (150 wpm) would take about 6–7 minutes.
Does this count work for different languages?
The word count splits on whitespace, which works for most Western languages. Languages without spaces between words (like Chinese or Japanese) will count differently — the character count is more useful for those.