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Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs, and estimate reading time.
Use this free word counter to count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs as you type. It also estimates reading time at about 200 words per minute for US adult readers. Paste an essay draft, tweet, meta description, or LinkedIn post and see length updates live. Character counts include or exclude spaces so form limits are easier to hit. Everything runs in your browser with no sign-up.
How to use
- Add textPaste or type your draft into the word counter field.
- Review statsCheck words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, and reading time.
- Adjust lengthEdit the text until the counts match your limit.
Text is split on whitespace to count words, sentences are detected from terminal punctuation, and paragraphs are separated by blank lines. Reading time assumes an average adult reading speed of 200 words per minute.
Word count, character count, and reading time
A word counter helps when a school essay has a minimum or maximum word goal. Watch the live word total while you revise.
Character counters matter for tweets, SMS, SEO titles, and meta descriptions. Use characters with spaces when a form counts every glyph.
Words to minutes reading time uses about 200 words per minute. That matches common adult silent reading estimates in the US.
Common US length requirements
These are typical planning targets, not hard platform laws. Always confirm the limit on the form or assignment sheet you are filling.
| Content type | Typical limit | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Short school essay | About 500-750 words | Word count |
| Standard blog section | About 300-600 words | Word count and reading time |
| X (Twitter) post | 280 characters | Characters with spaces |
| Meta description | About 150-160 characters | Characters with spaces |
| LinkedIn post | About 1,300-3,000 characters | Characters; keep hooks short |
| College personal statement | Often 500-650 words | Word count |
Reading time here assumes about 200 words per minute.
Example
A 400-word article with 2 paragraphs reports 400 words and a reading time of about 2 minutes.