How to Use the Word Counter

Paste or type your text into the box above. All statistics update instantly as you type — no button to press, no page reload.

What Does This Tool Count?

Words

Words are split on whitespace. Multiple spaces count as a single separator, so double-spacing won't inflate your count.

Characters

Total character count including spaces, punctuation, and numbers — the raw length of your text string. For a dedicated character breakdown with and without spaces, see the character counter.

Sentences

Counted by terminal punctuation: periods (.), exclamation marks (!), and question marks (?). Works for the vast majority of standard English writing.

Paragraphs

Each block of text separated by a blank line counts as one paragraph — the standard paragraph separator in plain text.

Reading Time

Based on 200 WPM, the average adult reading speed for comprehension. For a standalone reading time tool with a customisable WPM setting, see the reading time calculator.

Average Word Length

Total letters divided by word count. A higher number generally indicates more complex or technical vocabulary.

Unique Words

Count of distinct words (case-insensitive, punctuation stripped). A useful measure of vocabulary diversity in a piece of writing.

When Do You Need a Word Counter?

Academic writing: essays and assignments commonly have word count limits or minimums (500 words, 2,000 words, etc.).
Blog posts: longer posts (1,500–2,500 words) tend to rank better in search engines for competitive topics.
Social media: Twitter/X allows 280 characters; LinkedIn posts perform best under 1,300 characters.
Freelance writing: many clients pay by the word — knowing your count keeps billing accurate.
NaNoWriMo: the annual novel-writing challenge requires 50,000 words in November — word count tracking is essential.

Privacy

Your text never leaves your browser. All counting happens locally in JavaScript — nothing is sent to any server.

Word Counter