Word Counter — Words, Characters, Sentences & Reading Time
Count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs online free — live update as you type. Also shows estimated reading time and speaking time. No sign-up, works offline.
Last updated: June 2026
Set a goal to track your progress as you write.
Keyword density
Top 10 words, excluding common stop words.
Start typing to see your most-used words.
About this tool
How to count words and characters online
A word counter is one of those tools you reach for constantly — to hit an essay's length requirement, keep a meta description under its character limit, or size a script for a talk. Paste your text above and everything updates instantly: word count, characters with and without spaces, sentences, and paragraphs, with no button to press and nothing uploaded anywhere.
It doubles as a character counter and a reading time calculator. Reading time is estimated at about 200 words per minute and speaking time at about 130, so you can plan blog posts, presentations and speeches at a glance. The keyword density panel lists the words you use most — handy for SEO and for catching repetition — and you can set a target word count to watch a progress bar fill as you write.
Everything runs locally in your browser, so even private or confidential text never leaves your
device. When you're done, copy the text back out or download it as a .txt file.
For polishing your writing further, try the
readability checker or
clean up formatting with the
case converter.
How it works
Three quick steps — no account, nothing uploaded to a server.
Paste your text
Type or paste your text into the box.
See the counts
Words, characters, sentences and reading time update live.
Use your results
Copy the output or download it.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is this word counter free and private?
Yes — it's completely free with no account, no limits and no ads in the way. It's also fully private: your text is counted entirely in your browser using JavaScript, so nothing you paste is ever uploaded or stored. You can safely count private notes, drafts or confidential documents.
How are words counted?
Words are counted as whitespace-separated tokens — the same method word processors like Microsoft Word and Google Docs use. Multiple spaces or line breaks between words don't inflate the count, and the total updates live as you type or paste.
What's the difference between characters with and without spaces?
Characters with spaces counts every character including spaces, tabs and line breaks — this is what most platforms mean by a character limit. Characters without spaces excludes all whitespace, which some forms and academic requirements ask for. We show both at once so you're covered either way.
What is keyword density?
Keyword density shows which words you use most often and how frequently, excluding common stop words like 'the' and 'and'. It's useful for SEO writing — to check you're using your target terms enough without over-stuffing — and for spotting words you lean on too heavily. We list your top ten words with their counts and percentages.
How accurate is the reading time?
Reading time assumes an average adult reading speed of about 200 words per minute, and speaking time assumes around 130 words per minute. These are standard averages, so treat the figures as a close estimate for sizing articles, scripts and presentations rather than an exact measurement.
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