How is a word defined?

A run of letters or digits, with apostrophes and hyphens treated as part of the word. So don't is one word and well-known is one word, which matches how a person counts and how most word processors do.

Why does my word processor give a different number?

Different tools disagree about hyphenated compounds, numbers and text inside footnotes or headers. Differences of one or two per cent are normal. If you are working to a hard limit, use the counter belonging to whoever is enforcing it.

Is the reading time reliable?

It is an estimate from a words-per-minute rate, so it is only as good as the rate you choose. Use it to compare pieces rather than as a precise measure of anyone's actual reading.

Which words are excluded from the frequency list?

Common function words — the, and, of, to, is and about eighty others — plus anything shorter than three letters. Without that filter the list is the same for every text ever written.

Word Counter

Count words, characters, sentences and reading time.

Everything runs inside your browser. Your files never leave your device.

Input

Result

The result appears here as you type.

Ask about Word Counter

Questions about what this tool does, which option to pick, or what it can and cannot handle.

This is the one part of the site that uses a server. The question you type here is sent to an AI provider to be answered — your files and whatever you put in the tool above are not, and the assistant cannot see them. Answers are generated and can be wrong; the tool itself is not guessing.

About the Word Counter

Word limits are real. A meta description that runs long gets truncated in the results page, an abstract over the cap gets rejected, an essay under it loses marks, and a newsletter that takes eleven minutes to read does not get read. Counting by eye does not work past a paragraph.

This counter reports words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs and lines, along with estimated reading and speaking times. The reading speed is adjustable because it varies enormously with material — 225 words a minute is a reasonable default for general prose, but technical writing is closer to 150 and light fiction closer to 300. The speaking estimate uses 130 words a minute, which is the pace of a measured presentation rather than a rushed one.

Words are counted the way a person would count them: letters, digits, apostrophes and hyphens hold a word together, so "don't" and "well-known" each count once rather than twice. Sentences are counted by terminal punctuation, and paragraphs by blank lines.

The frequency list underneath shows the ten words you lean on most, with common function words filtered out. It is a quick way to catch a piece of writing that has said "leverage" nine times, and a quick way to see whether an article actually mentions its own subject.

How to use it

1Paste or type your text into the input box — counts update as you type.
2Adjust the reading speed if your material is more technical or lighter than average prose.
3Read the counts and the estimated reading and speaking times below.
4Check the frequency list for words you have overused.

Questions

How is a word defined?: A run of letters or digits, with apostrophes and hyphens treated as part of the word. So don't is one word and well-known is one word, which matches how a person counts and how most word processors do.
Why does my word processor give a different number?: Different tools disagree about hyphenated compounds, numbers and text inside footnotes or headers. Differences of one or two per cent are normal. If you are working to a hard limit, use the counter belonging to whoever is enforcing it.
Is the reading time reliable?: It is an estimate from a words-per-minute rate, so it is only as good as the rate you choose. Use it to compare pieces rather than as a precise measure of anyone's actual reading.
Which words are excluded from the frequency list?: Common function words — the, and, of, to, is and about eighty others — plus anything shorter than three letters. Without that filter the list is the same for every text ever written.