Word Count Calculator
Count words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and reading time.
238 words per minute is the adult average for silent reading.
Results update as you type.
How it works
A word count calculator measures the length of a piece of writing the way editors, teachers and search engines do. Paste or type any text and it instantly reports the number of words, the number of characters both with and without spaces, how many sentences and paragraphs it contains, and how long it would take to read silently or aloud. Everything updates as you type, so you can trim a draft to a limit without stopping to recount. Length limits are everywhere. University essays and scholarship applications set word ranges, journals cap abstracts at 150 or 250 words, social posts and meta descriptions are limited by characters, and translators and copywriters are often paid per word. Knowing the exact count before you submit saves rejected applications, truncated posts and awkward invoice disputes, and the reading-time estimate tells you whether a blog post, speech or newsletter fits the attention your audience will give it. The counting rules are deliberately simple and transparent. A word is any run of characters between spaces that contains at least one letter or digit, so a stray dash or bullet is not counted as a word, and hyphenated compounds such as well-known count once. Sentences end at a full stop, question mark, exclamation mark or ellipsis followed by a space, which keeps numbers like 3.14 intact. Paragraphs are blocks of text separated by a blank line. Accented letters and emoji count as single characters, so the tool works equally well for Spanish, English and other languages. Students, bloggers, marketers, journalists and anyone writing to a limit can rely on it.
words = runs of non-space text containing a letter or digit; reading time = words ÷ reading speed (wpm); speaking time = words ÷ 130 wpm
The text is split on whitespace and each piece that contains at least one letter or digit counts as a word. Sentences are split where a full stop, question mark, exclamation mark or ellipsis is followed by a space or the end of the text, and paragraphs where a blank line appears. Reading time divides the word count by your reading speed in words per minute, and speaking time divides it by 130 words per minute, a typical presentation pace.
Source:Average adult silent reading rate of 238 wpm (Brysbaert, 2019)
We review all our tools from time to time to ensure accuracy.
Worked example
How to use this calculator
- 1
Enter your values
Enter your values in the fields above.
- 2
Adjust the options
Adjust your text and reading speed if they apply — sensible defaults are already set.
- 3
Read your result
Words updates instantly as you type — no button to press.
Frequently asked questions
How does the calculator decide what counts as a word?
It splits the text wherever there is a space, tab or line break, and counts each piece that contains at least one letter or number. That means a dash, bullet or emoji standing alone is not counted, while hyphenated compounds like well-known and numbers like 2026 each count as one word. This matches how most word processors and submission systems count, so your total should agree with theirs.
What is the difference between characters with and without spaces?
Characters with spaces counts every character you typed, including spaces, tabs and line breaks, which is what social networks, SMS and many form fields limit. Characters without spaces removes all whitespace first, which is how some translation agencies and publishers price work. Accented letters such as ñ or é and emoji each count as a single character, so the totals are reliable in any language.
How is reading time estimated?
Reading time is the word count divided by your reading speed. The default is 238 words per minute, the average silent reading rate for adults found by a large 2019 review of studies. Change the speed if you read faster or slower, or set it lower for dense technical material. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute, a comfortable pace for presentations and speeches.
How are sentences and paragraphs counted?
A sentence ends at a full stop, question mark, exclamation mark or ellipsis that is followed by a space or the end of the text, so decimals like 3.14 do not break a sentence in two. A paragraph is a block of text separated from the next by a blank line. If you paste text where paragraphs are separated by single line breaks, add a blank line between them for an accurate paragraph count.
Is my text stored or sent anywhere?
No. All counting happens directly in your browser as you type, and the text never leaves your device or gets saved on our servers. You can safely paste drafts, essays, client documents or confidential material. Closing or refreshing the page clears the text, so copy your work somewhere else first if you want to keep it after you finish checking the length.