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Word Counter

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Free word counter with reading time, readability and keyword density

Paste or type and every count updates as you write: words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, unique words and syllables, plus reading and speaking time at the pace you choose. The Readability tab grades your text with six standard formulas, Keywords shows which words and phrases you repeat most, and Limits checks your text against the character limits of X, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google titles and descriptions, SMS and more. Everything is calculated in your browser, so your text is never uploaded.

  1. 1

    Paste or type

    Select a reading speed in the top bar and, if you like, set a word or character goal. The counts in the right-hand panel update with every keystroke.

  2. 2

    Explore the tabs

    Overview has the headline numbers, Keywords the repeated words and phrases, Readability the grade-level scores and longest sentences, Limits the platform checks.

  3. 3

    Tidy and export

    Change case, clean up spacing, copy the text, or download it together with a full statistics report or a keyword CSV.

How words are counted

A word is any run of letters or digits, including hyphenated and apostrophe words such as well-known or don’t. Numbers count as words, URLs and emails count as one word each, and in Chinese, Japanese and Korean each character counts as a word, which is how those languages are usually measured.

Reading and speaking time

Reading time uses the pace you pick: 150 words per minute for careful reading, 238 for the average adult, 300 for a fast reader and 450 for skimming. Speaking time assumes 130 words per minute, the pace of a clear presentation, so you can size a speech, podcast script or video voice-over.

Readability scores

Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch–Kincaid Grade, Gunning Fog, SMOG, Coleman–Liau and the Automated Readability Index all look at sentence length and word length or syllables. Together they tell you whether a text reads like a children’s book, a newspaper or an academic paper.

Keyword density

Density is how often a word or phrase appears as a share of all words. Writers use it to catch repetition; SEO writers use it to keep a target keyword natural, usually under 2–3%. Toggle common words off to see only the meaningful ones, and switch to two- and three-word phrases for real topics.

Character limits checked

X (Twitter) posts of 280 characters, Instagram captions of 2,200 and bios of 150, Facebook posts of 63,206, LinkedIn posts of 3,000 and headlines of 220, TikTok captions of 2,200, YouTube titles of 100 and descriptions of 5,000, Threads posts of 500, Bluesky posts of 300, Google title tags of about 60 characters and meta descriptions of about 160, SMS messages of 160, and Pinterest descriptions of 500. Limits change from time to time, so treat them as a guide.

Frequently asked questions

Is the word counter free and private?
Yes. It is free with no sign-up, and the counting happens entirely in your browser. Your text is saved only in your own browser so it is still there when you come back, and it is never sent to a server.
How many words is one page?
About 500 words single-spaced or 250 double-spaced in a standard 12 pt font with normal margins. The Overview panel shows both, so you can size essays, reports and manuscripts.
Does it count characters with or without spaces?
Both. Most platform limits count every character including spaces, which is the number the Limits tab uses; publishers and translators often quote characters without spaces, shown alongside.
Can I count words in a Word or PDF file?
Yes. Use Upload or drag the file into the editor. The text is extracted in your browser, so the document itself never leaves your computer.
What is a good readability score?
A Flesch Reading Ease of 60–70 (about grade 8–9) suits most online and business writing. Marketing copy often aims higher, at 70–80; technical or academic texts are commonly 30–50.