What it counts
The counter updates as you type. Nothing you paste leaves your device: the counting happens in your browser.
- Words. A word is a run of letters or digits. Apostrophes and hyphens inside a word keep it whole, so “don’t” and “well-known” are one word each. Numbers such as “3.50”, “1,000” and “10:30” are one word. So are a web address, an email address and an initialism written with full stops, like “U.S.” or “e.g.”. Dashes, slashes and spaces separate words, so “and/or” is two.
- Characters. Characters are counted the way you see them. An emoji built from several code points, such as a family or a flag, counts as one. “Characters without spaces” leaves out spaces, tabs and line breaks.
- Sentences end at a full stop, question mark, exclamation mark or ellipsis followed by a space and a capital letter, a digit or a quote. “Dr.” and “Mrs.”, initials and list numbers do not end a sentence. A heading on its own line counts as a sentence.
- Paragraphs are blocks separated by a blank line. If your text has no blank lines, each line counts as a paragraph.
- Reading time assumes 238 words a minute, the average silent reading speed for English non-fiction in a large 2019 review of studies. Speaking time assumes 130 words a minute, a measured presentation pace.
The keyword table lists words you used more than once. It leaves out common words such as “the”, “which” and “would”, so the words that carry your topic rise to the top. Density is each word’s share of the total word count.
Why counters disagree
Run the same essay through three counters and you may get three totals. Most of the gap comes from a handful of choices: whether “e-mail” is one word or two, whether a number counts, and how a URL is treated. Chinese and Japanese text causes the biggest swings, because those scripts do not put spaces between words. Here each Chinese or Japanese character counts as one word, which matches how Microsoft Word’s total behaves. The guide How words are counted goes through the cases one by one.
If a teacher or editor gave you a limit, check it with the tool they will use, and leave a small margin.
Tips
- Trim from the middle. When you are over a limit, the fastest cuts are usually in the middle paragraphs, where examples tend to repeat. The words-to-cut guide lists the phrases that shrink most easily.
- Watch the average sentence. A long average sentence is a quicker warning sign than a high word count. Many plain-language writers aim for an average of about 15 to 20 words. The sentence length checker shows every sentence as a bar.
- For more than counting, open your text in the editor. It keeps the same counts in a side panel and adds readability scores and style highlights.
Does it count hyphenated words as one word?
Yes. “Mother-in-law” and “state-of-the-art” each count as one word, as they do in most word processors. A dash with or without spaces (“plan—if” or “plan – if”) separates words.
How long does it take to read 1,000 words?
About 4 minutes 12 seconds at 238 words a minute, and about 7 minutes 42 seconds aloud at 130 words a minute. The reading time calculator lets you change both speeds.
Is my text stored anywhere?
The counter keeps your last text in your browser’s local storage, so it is still there if you reload the page. It is not sent to any server. Clear it with the Clear button.