Word Counter — Count Words & Characters Online
Count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs instantly as you type. Also shows reading time estimate and top keyword density. Free, no sign-up.
Stats appear as you type.
What does this word counter tool do?
This tool analyses your text in real time and instantly shows you word count, character count (with and without spaces), sentence count, paragraph count, estimated reading time, and the top recurring keywords. All processing happens in your browser — no text is ever uploaded to a server.
Who needs a word counter?
- Writers and bloggers — SEO-optimised blog posts typically need 1,500–2,500 words. Track progress against your target in real time.
- Students — essays and assignments usually have minimum or maximum word limits. Never guess again.
- Social media managers — Twitter/X posts are capped at 280 characters. LinkedIn posts perform better under 700 words. Instagram captions work best under 150 characters before the "more" cut-off.
- SEO content writers — quickly audit keyword density to avoid over-optimisation and keyword stuffing penalties.
- Email marketers — subject lines under 50 characters see higher open rates on mobile. The character counter keeps you on target.
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time is calculated by dividing the total word count by 200 words per minute, the average adult silent reading speed. A 1,000-word article takes approximately 5 minutes; a 500-word piece takes 2–3 minutes. The result is always rounded up to the nearest minute.
What is keyword density?
Keyword density is the percentage of times a specific word appears relative to the total word count. The Top Keywords panel shows the most frequently used significant words after filtering out common stop words (articles, prepositions, conjunctions). In SEO, a keyword density of 1–2% for your primary keyword is generally healthy — higher may be flagged as keyword stuffing.
Character limits for common platforms
- Google title tag: ~60 characters
- Google meta description: ~155–160 characters
- Twitter/X post: 280 characters
- LinkedIn post: 3,000 characters (700 recommended for engagement)
- Instagram caption: 2,200 characters (150 before truncation)
- YouTube description: 5,000 characters (first 157 shown in search)
Frequently asked questions
Does this tool save my text?
No. Your text exists only in your browser's memory while the page is open. Closing or refreshing the tab clears it completely. Nothing is transmitted to any server.
How accurate is the word count?
The tool splits text on whitespace, which matches how most writing guidelines define a word. Hyphenated words (e.g. well-known) count as one word. Numbers and alphanumeric strings (e.g. COVID-19) also count as one word.
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time is calculated by dividing the total word count by 200 words per minute — the average silent reading speed for adults. The result is rounded up to the nearest minute. A 1,000-word article takes approximately 5 minutes; a 500-word piece takes 2–3 minutes.
What is keyword density and why does it matter for SEO?
Keyword density is how often a word appears relative to total word count. The Top Keywords panel shows the most frequent meaningful words after filtering stop words. For SEO, a density of 1–2% for your primary keyword is healthy. Higher can be flagged as keyword stuffing by search engines.
How many characters should a meta description be?
Google typically displays up to 155–160 characters in a meta description in search results. Use the character counter to stay within this limit. Page titles work best under 60 characters.
Does it work with languages other than English?
Word and character counting works for any language that uses spaces as word separators. The keyword density panel uses an English stop-word list, so results may be less useful for non-English text.
Is there a text size limit?
There is no enforced limit. The tool processes text in real time in your browser, so very large documents (100,000+ words) may be slightly slower on low-powered devices.
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