Word Counter
Free word counter. Count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs in real time, plus estimated reading and speaking time. Everything stays in your browser.
About the Word Counter
Everything updates live as you type: words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs and unique words — plus estimated reading time (about 225 words per minute for silent reading) and speaking time (about 130 words per minute at presentation pace) so you can size a talk or a blog post instantly.
Why word counts matter
Most writing carries a target: tweets, meta descriptions, college essays, grant abstracts, ad copy. Search engines truncate meta descriptions around 155–160 characters; academic abstracts often cap at 250 words. Watching the count as you write beats trimming afterwards.
For planning a speech, the speaking-time estimate is the difference between a 5-minute lightning talk and an embarrassing 12. The text never leaves your browser, so it is safe for drafts, NDA material and personal writing.
Frequently asked questions
How is reading time calculated?
Based on research on average adult silent reading speed — roughly 225 words per minute for clear non-fiction. A 1,000-word article comes out around 4–5 minutes. Technical material reads slower, so treat it as an estimate.
How many words is a 5-minute speech?
At a comfortable presentation pace of about 130 words per minute, plan roughly 600–650 words for five minutes. The speaking-time estimate updates as you type.
How are words counted in other languages?
The counter treats any sequence of letters and digits (including accented characters) as a word. For Chinese and similar scripts it counts characters, matching the convention used by editors in those languages.
Is my text private?
Completely. The counting happens in your browser with plain JavaScript — there is no autosave, no server upload and no analytics on your content.