Word Counter
Type or paste your text below and the counts update instantly. Your text never leaves your browser.
How to use
- Paste your text into the box, or type directly in it.
- The counts below update in real time — no button to press.
- Click "Clear" to start over.
When it's useful
Checking an essay, article or application against a word limit; estimating how long a speech, presentation or video script will take to read aloud; quickly sizing up text for translation or editing work, including Chinese, Japanese or Korean text — it's handy for all of these.
FAQ
Q: How are words and characters counted?
A: "Words" counts runs of letters separated by spaces or punctuation (contractions and hyphenated words like "don't" or "well-known" count as one). "Characters (with spaces)" includes spaces and punctuation; "Characters (no spaces)" counts everything except whitespace. "CJK characters" counts Chinese characters (including extension ranges), useful for Chinese and Japanese text.
Q: How is reading time estimated?
A: It's a rough estimate based on an average read-aloud pace of about 150 English words per minute (and about 300 Chinese characters per minute for CJK text). Actual time varies by speaker, so treat it as a guide.
Q: Is my text uploaded or saved?
A: No. Counting is done by a script running in your browser — we have no server that receives your text.