Free Word Counter Online
A free word counter: count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs as you type — with live reading-time estimates.
Free tool · No sign-up · Private
About this tool
About the Word Counter
A word counter is the simplest writing tool and one of the most used: paste your text and instantly see words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, and estimated reading time. This free online word counter updates live with every keystroke, entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded, so there is no character limit and no privacy concern. Students check essay word limits, bloggers hit article targets, SEO writers keep meta descriptions under the character cap, and scriptwriters estimate video length from reading time.
Reading time assumes 200 words per minute, the commonly cited adult average, so a 1,000-word article shows as about five minutes — matching the read-time labels you see across the web. Character counts matter wherever strict caps apply: social posts, SMS, headlines, and search snippets. Because everything runs locally, you can paste a full thesis or a data dump without slowdown. Use the sentence and paragraph counts as a readability check too — if your average sentence runs past 25 words, readers start skimming.
How it works
Three steps to your count
Paste or type
Drop your essay, article, caption, or script into the box. No sign-up, no file upload — just text.
Watch it count
Words, characters (with and without spaces), sentences, paragraphs, and reading time update live with every keystroke.
Hit your target
Trim to a word limit, check a character cap for meta descriptions, or estimate how long your script takes to read aloud.
Good to know
What the numbers mean
Six live metrics, and how to use each one.
Words vs. characters
Word counts decide essay limits and article pricing; character counts (with spaces) decide tweet, meta-description, and SMS limits. This tool shows both, plus a no-spaces count for strict limits.
Reading time
Based on 200 words per minute — the commonly cited average for adult readers. A 1,000-word article reads as about 5 minutes, which matches the “X min read” labels you see on blogs.
Sentences & paragraphs
Useful for readability checks: if your average sentence runs past 25 words, or paragraphs past 5 sentences, readers start skimming. Break them up.
No limits, no tracking
Because counting happens on your device, there is no character cap and no analytics on your content. Paste a 100,000-word manuscript if you like.
Examples
Typical use cases
University essay, limit: 1,500 words Draft: 1,732 words → 232 over. Cut the introduction and one example → 1,489 words. Submitted.
YouTube script: 1,200 words ÷ 200 wpm ≈ 6 min reading time. Spoken pace is slower (~150 wpm), so plan for ~8 minutes of video.
FAQ
Word counter questions
How does this word counter count words?
What counts as a sentence?
How is reading time calculated?
Is there a character limit?
Is my text private?
Is there a free word counter with no character limit?
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