How to count words
- Type into the box below, or paste text in from a document.
- The counts update as you go — words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and reading time.
- Scroll down for the most-repeated words if you are checking for repetition.
Questions people ask
Is my text sent anywhere?
No. Nothing you type is transmitted or stored.
How is reading time worked out?
At 238 words per minute, which is the average adult silent reading speed for non-fiction found in Brysbaert’s 2019 review of about 190 studies. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute, a comfortable presentation pace — read-aloud is always slower than read-silently.
How do you count a hyphenated word?
"Well-known" counts as one word, and so does "don’t". Words are matched as letter or digit runs that may contain an internal apostrophe or hyphen, which matches how a person counting by eye would do it.
Why is the sentence count slightly off?
Sentence detection is an estimate. Full stops inside decimals ("3.14") and common abbreviations ("e.g.", "Dr.") are excluded, but no simple rule handles every case. Treat it as a close guide rather than an exact figure.
Does it count characters the way Twitter or a form field does?
It counts by visible character, so an emoji or a CJK character counts as one. Some systems count in UTF-16 code units instead, where an emoji counts as two — if you are checking against a strict limit, leave yourself a little headroom.