Word counter

How to count words

• Type or paste your text in the box.
• The numbers update as you type: words, characters, characters without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, reading time and speaking time.
• Use Copy to take the text with you, or Clear to start again.

Limits worth knowing

• Search results show about 155 characters of a meta description on a phone and about 160 on a computer, then cut it.
• A post on X can hold 280 characters and a standard SMS holds 160 characters of plain text.
• Essays and school work are often set by words. Check the number your teacher or the job gives you, because some count the title and some do not.

Reading time and speaking time

Reading time assumes 200 words per minute, a normal pace for an adult reading on a screen. Speaking time assumes 130 words per minute, a calm pace for a talk or a video script. A 650 word script is therefore about 5 minutes aloud. Use the numbers as a guide, because a slow or fast reader will differ.

How words are counted

A word is any run of letters or numbers separated by spaces. Hyphenated words count as one. A sentence ends at a full stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark, and a paragraph is a block of text separated by a blank line. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

Word counter

• Check the limit for an essay, a tweet, a meta description or an SMS.
• Reading time uses 200 words per minute; speaking time uses 130.
• Characters are shown with and without spaces.
• Your text is counted in your browser and never uploaded.

Questions

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