Word Counter

How the word counter works

Words are counted as whitespace-separated tokens — the same way LinkedIn, Twitter, and most editors count. Characters include spaces and punctuation; the "no spaces" count strips whitespace.

Sentences are detected by terminal punctuation (. ! ?). Paragraphs split on blank lines. Reading time assumes 200 words per minute (the typical adult reading speed); speaking time uses 130 wpm (typical presentation pace).

Useful for: hitting a word count for an article draft, estimating speech length, social-media character limits (X: 280, Instagram caption: 2,200, LinkedIn post: 3,000), and checking whether a piece is getting too repetitive.

Limitations

Different platforms count text differently. Microsoft Word, Google Docs, CMS editors, and social networks may treat emoji, CJK text, URLs, footnotes, hidden text, or hyphenated words in their own way. For school, legal, publishing, or platform-specific requirements, use this page as a quick estimate and verify against the final submission tool.

Privacy and review status

This tool runs locally in your browser. There is no account, upload step, or server-side text processing.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-14. Counting rules are maintained manually and intentionally kept simple so the result is easy to understand.

Frequently asked questions

Does this match Microsoft Word or Google Docs exactly?

Not always. This counter uses transparent browser-side rules: words are split on whitespace, sentences use terminal punctuation, and paragraphs use blank lines. Editors may handle hyphenated words, footnotes, comments, or hidden text differently.

Is my pasted text uploaded anywhere?

No. Counting happens in your browser with JavaScript. The text you type or paste is not sent to a server.

What reading speed does the estimate use?

Reading time uses 200 words per minute, and speaking time uses 130 words per minute. These are practical planning defaults, not a guarantee for every reader or speaker.