Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs live as you type, plus reading and speaking time. Free and private.
Words
0
Characters
0
Characters (no spaces)
0
Sentences
0
Paragraphs
0
Reading time
0s
Speaking time
0s
How is reading time calculated? Reading time assumes an average silent reading speed of about 200 words per minute, and speaking time assumes about 130 words per minute (a comfortable presentation pace).
Is my text private? Completely. Everything is counted in your browser as you type — nothing is uploaded, saved, or sent anywhere.
What counts as a word? Any run of non-space characters separated by whitespace. This matches how Word and Google Docs count, so the totals line up with most platforms' limits.
A word counter tallies your text in real time: words, characters (with and without spaces), sentences, and paragraphs, plus estimated reading and speaking time.
Paste or type your text and the counts update instantly. It is handy for essays with length limits, social posts with character caps, and gauging how long a piece takes to read aloud.
Because the counting happens in your browser, your text stays on your device, which matters when you are working with drafts you would rather not upload anywhere.
How this calculator works
The counter splits your text on whitespace to count words, counts individual characters for the character totals, and detects sentence and paragraph boundaries using punctuation and line breaks. Reading time is estimated by dividing the word count by an average silent reading speed of about 200 to 250 words per minute, while speaking time uses a slower rate of roughly 130 words per minute, closer to a natural speaking pace. All of this runs locally in your browser, so nothing is sent to a server, and the numbers refresh as you edit.
What affects the number
- Character limits differ by platform, and some count spaces and emoji differently.
- Reading speed varies by reader and material, so reading-time estimates are approximate.
- Speaking pace is slower than reading pace, which is why the two time estimates differ.
- How sentences and paragraphs are detected depends on punctuation and line breaks.
- Words are split on spaces, so hyphenated terms and numbers can count as one word.
- Running in the browser keeps your text private and the counts instant.
Frequently asked questions
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time divides the word count by an average silent reading speed, commonly 200 to 250 words per minute. A 1,000-word article is therefore about 4 to 5 minutes. It is an estimate, since reading speed varies with the reader and the difficulty of the text.
Does the word counter include spaces in the character count?
It shows both totals: characters including spaces and characters excluding spaces. This matters because some platforms count spaces toward a limit while others do not, so having both lets you match whichever rule applies.
Is my text private?
Yes. The counting runs entirely in your browser, so your text is not uploaded or stored on any server. That makes it safe to paste drafts, private notes, or unpublished work without sharing them.
How is speaking time different from reading time?
Speaking time assumes a spoken pace of about 130 words per minute, slower than silent reading. It is a better estimate for how long a speech or script will take to deliver aloud, which is why it comes out longer than the reading-time figure.
This calculator provides general estimates for educational purposes only and is not financial, medical, legal, or tax advice. Your actual results depend on your specific situation and current rates.