Word & Character Counter
Paste or type below — counts update live. Words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, and estimated reading time.
Why word counts matter
Most writing lives inside limits — sometimes a hard cutoff, sometimes an expectation:
| Context | Typical limit / target |
|---|---|
| X (Twitter) post | 280 characters |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 characters (first ~125 shown) |
| Meta / Google search description | ~155–160 characters |
| College application essay (Common App) | 650 words |
| Cover letter | 250–400 words |
| Blog post (SEO sweet spot) | 1,000–2,000 words |
| Novel | 70,000–100,000 words |
How reading time is estimated
Adults read English silently at roughly 200–250 words per minute. This tool uses 225 wpm, so a 900-word article shows about 4 minutes. Speaking pace is slower — around 130–150 wpm — which matters if you're timing a speech: a 5-minute talk is only about 700 words.
What counts as a word?
This counter treats any run of characters separated by spaces or line breaks as one word — the same convention as Microsoft Word and Google Docs. Hyphenated compounds ("mother-in-law") count as one word; "don't" is one word; numbers like "2026" count as words too.
Frequently asked questions
Do spaces count as characters?
Both figures are shown: characters including spaces (what most platform limits use) and excluding spaces (common for translation pricing and some academic rules).
Is my text stored anywhere?
No — counting happens entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to any server.
How are sentences counted?
By sentence-ending punctuation (. ! ?). Abbreviations like "Dr." can inflate the count slightly — treat it as a close estimate.