How to use the word counter
- Type or paste your text.
- Counts update as you type.
- Check reading time for articles and speaking time for speeches.
About this tool
Paste or type your text to see word, character (with and without spaces), sentence, paragraph and line counts. Reading time assumes about 238 words per minute and speaking time 150. Useful for essays, SEO descriptions, social posts and speeches.
How the counts work
- Words are runs of characters separated by spaces or line breaks.
- Characters include spaces, and a second count shows characters without them.
- Sentences end at a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.
- Paragraphs are blocks separated by a blank line.
Common length limits
Platforms change their limits, so check the current rule, but these are typical:
| Where | Typical limit |
|---|---|
| SMS (plain English) | 160 characters per message |
| Post on X (free accounts) | 280 characters |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 characters |
| LinkedIn post | 3,000 characters |
| Search result title | About 60 characters |
| Meta description | About 155 characters |
Reading and speaking time
Reading time assumes about 238 words per minute and speaking time about 150, so a 1,000-word article takes roughly 4 minutes to read and 7 minutes to say aloud. It is a guide only, because technical text and slides take longer.
Writing to a word limit
For essays and assignments, count the words of the body only if your instructions say so, since some limits exclude references and headings. Paste just the part you need to measure. If your text includes Indian languages, the character count follows Unicode, so a letter with a vowel sign can count as more than one character.
Frequently asked questions
How is reading time worked out?
About 238 words per minute for silent reading and 150 for speaking aloud.
Are spaces counted as characters?
Both counts are shown: with spaces, and without.
Is my text uploaded?
No. Everything runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Does it count hyphenated words as one?
Yes. Words joined by a hyphen with no spaces count as one word, like most word processors.
Is my text saved?
No. The count runs in your browser and nothing is stored or sent.