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Free Online Word Counter

Count words and characters as you type or paste. Set a word limit, check a selected passage and estimate reading time. Free to use, with no sign-up. Counting runs in your browser.

Words

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Characters

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Your live word and character count

Paste or type your text below. Select a passage to count only that part.

Local .txt or .md, UTF-8, up to 2 MiB. Opening a file replaces the editor text.

Your text is counted in this browser tab. This counter does not upload or save drafts.

How to use the online word counter

  1. Type or paste your text into the editor.

  2. Check the live word and character counts, or set an optional word limit.

  3. Select a passage to count it separately. Copy or download the count summary if you need a record.

A free word count calculator for essays, articles and more

Use this online word counter to check an essay, application answer, article or product description. See words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and lines as you edit. Set a word limit to see how many words remain or how far you are over it. The counter does not shorten or rewrite your text.

How words and characters are counted

The current word count uses non-empty groups separated by whitespace. Repeated spaces and line breaks do not add words. A hyphenated expression such as well-known counts as one word. Standalone punctuation and emoji can also count as a group. This method is intended for space-separated text; it does not identify word boundaries in languages written without spaces.

Characters are counted as Unicode code points. The main total includes whitespace; the second total excludes it. A combined emoji can contain several code points, so another editor or form may show a different character total.

A quick example

Hello, Cobalt! has 2 words, 14 characters including the space and 13 without whitespace. Add another space: the full character total increases, but the word count stays at 2.

Reading time, sentences and paragraphs

Reading time is an estimate based on 225 words per minute by default. Choose another speed in the editor. Estimates below one minute are shown as “<1 min”. Longer estimates are rounded up to a full minute. Sentence totals use periods, question marks and exclamation marks, so abbreviations can affect the result. Paragraphs are text blocks separated by a blank line. For a formal submission, follow the counting rules of your school, publisher or platform.

Word counter FAQs

Is this online word counter free?

Yes. You can count words and characters for free without creating an account.

Can I check a 250-, 500- or 1,000-word limit?

Yes. Choose a preset or enter your own limit. The counter shows the words remaining or the amount over the limit without changing your text.

Can I count only part of my text?

Yes. Select a passage in the editor to see its word and character counts alongside the totals for the full text.

Is my text uploaded or saved?

Counting runs in your browser. This counter does not upload or save drafts. Copy your text elsewhere before closing or refreshing the tab.

Why does another tool show a different word count?

Counters may treat punctuation, hyphens, numbers or word boundaries differently. This page explains its method. Use the destination system’s count when it enforces the limit.

Related text tools

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