Free Online Word Counter
Paste or type any text and instantly see the word count, character count, sentence count, paragraph count, unique word count, and estimated reading time — all updating live.
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Words
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Characters
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Chars (no spaces)
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Sentences
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Paragraphs
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Unique Words
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Reading Time
How Reading Time is Calculated
Reading time is estimated at 200 words per minute — the widely accepted average for adult reading of digital text. The result is always rounded up to the nearest minute and shows a minimum of 1 minute for non-empty text.
Common Use Cases
- Essays & academic papers: Meet exact word-count requirements for assignments and submissions.
- SEO content: Ensure blog posts and landing pages hit target length for better search rankings.
- Social media: Check character counts before posting to Twitter/X, LinkedIn, or other platforms with limits.
- Reading time estimates: Add accurate "X min read" labels to blog articles and newsletters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Text is split on whitespace, so anything separated by a space, tab, or line break counts as one word — including hyphenated words like "well-known" (counted as one) and standalone numbers or symbols.
Sentences are counted by splitting on sentence-ending punctuation (., !, ?), so a run-on sentence with no punctuation counts as one. Paragraphs are counted by blank lines — text separated by an empty line break is treated as a new paragraph, matching how most word processors count paragraphs.
All counts — words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, unique words, and reading time — update live as you type or paste, with no button to click.
It's based on 200 words per minute, the commonly cited average adult reading speed for digital text, rounded up to the nearest minute with a 1-minute minimum. Actual reading speed varies by content difficulty and individual reader, so treat it as a useful estimate rather than an exact figure.
It's completely free with no limits, and nothing is sent anywhere — counting happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript.