Count words and characters online — free, instant, no login required. Paste or type any text to instantly see your word count, character count, sentence count, paragraph count, and estimated reading time.
What this tool does
- Counts words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs in real time as you type
- Shows estimated reading time based on 200 words per minute
- Counts characters with and without spaces separately
- Works with any language and any length of text
- Works entirely in your browser — nothing is sent to a server
Why count words and characters?
Word and character counts matter in many writing contexts. Publishers, editors, and academics work with word count targets. Social media platforms have strict character limits. SEO professionals track meta description and title tag lengths. Students must hit minimum word counts for essays. Knowing the exact count helps you write precisely to requirements.
Use cases
SEO: Google typically displays meta titles up to ~60 characters and meta descriptions up to ~160 characters. Social media: Twitter/X allows 280 characters, LinkedIn posts up to 3,000. Academic writing: Many universities require essays of exactly 500, 1,000, or 2,500 words. Freelance writing: Payment is often calculated per word. Email subject lines: Should ideally stay under 50 characters for best open rates.
How reading time is calculated
The estimated reading time is based on an average adult reading speed of approximately 200 words per minute — a well-established benchmark from research. For a typical 800-word blog post, that gives a 4-minute read time. The calculation always rounds up to the nearest minute and shows a minimum of 1 minute for very short texts.
Common character limits
Twitter/X: 280 characters. SMS: 160 characters per message. Meta title: 60 characters. Meta description: 160 characters. LinkedIn headline: 220 characters. Instagram bio: 150 characters. YouTube title: 100 characters. URL slug: aim for under 75 characters. Email subject line: under 50 characters for best deliverability.