Word Counter
The Word Counter analyzes any text in real time: total words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, unique words and average word length. It also estimates reading and speaking time, so you can check whether a blog post, essay or script meets its target length.
What this means
A word is any sequence of characters separated by spaces or line breaks — numbers, symbols and emojis each count as a word too, matching common word processors. Sentences are counted after '.', '!' or '?', and paragraphs are blocks separated by blank lines.
How we calculate it
Formula
Words = non-empty tokens separated by whitespace. Reading time = words ÷ reading speed.Worked example
A typical 500-word blog post:
- 1Count every whitespace-separated token: 500 words
- 2Characters (with spaces): about 3,100
- 3Reading time at 200 WPM: 2 minutes 30 seconds
Important assumptions
- Words are tokens separated by spaces or line breaks; punctuation attached to a word is part of it.
- Reading time uses 200 words per minute by default.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a word?
Any sequence of characters separated by spaces or line breaks. Numbers, symbols and emojis separated by spaces each count as one word, matching common word processors.
Why do word and character counts differ so much?
The average English word is about five characters, so a 500-word text has roughly 3,000 characters including spaces. The ratio depends on the language and the use of long or short words.
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