How to use the word counter
- Type or paste your text into the box. The counts update as you type.
- Check the word and character totals, plus reading and speaking time.
- Watch the limit bars to see if your text fits a tweet, an SMS or a meta description.
Frequently asked questions
Is my text uploaded or saved anywhere?
No. Everything is counted in your browser. Your text is never sent to a server and is gone when you close or refresh the page.
How does the word counter count words?
A word is a run of letters or numbers, so hyphenated words like well-known and contractions like don't count as one word. Standalone punctuation is not counted.
What is the difference between characters and characters without spaces?
Characters counts everything, including spaces, line breaks and punctuation. Characters without spaces leaves out spaces and line breaks. Use the first for limits like tweets and SMS.
How are reading time and speaking time worked out?
Reading time assumes about 240 words per minute, and speaking time assumes about 150 words per minute. These are averages, so your own pace may differ.
Does it work for Chinese, Japanese or other languages without spaces?
The character count is accurate for any language. The word count is not reliable for languages written without spaces between words, because the tool counts runs of letters.
What are the character limits for tweets, SMS and meta tags?
A standard X (Twitter) post is limited to 280 characters, and a single plain-text SMS segment holds 160 characters. Search engines show roughly 60 characters of a page title and 160 of a meta description, but those two are guidelines, not hard limits.
Is there a limit on how much text I can count?
There is no set limit. Very large documents may slow down your browser a little, since all the work happens on your device.
Is the word counter free?
Yes. There is no signup, no watermark and no usage limit.