Word Counter

Count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs as you type, with reading time at 200 words per minute and speaking time alongside — all in your browser. Runs entirely in your browser — your numbers never leave this device.

Text

Words: 31
Characters: 148
Characters (no spaces): 118
Sentences: 3
Paragraphs: 1
Unique words: 23
Reading time: 9 sec
Speaking time: 14 sec
Average word length: 3.61
Longest word: considered

How it works

Words = sequences of letters or numbers joined by internal apostrophes or hyphens | Reading time = words ÷ 200 wpm | Speaking time = words ÷ 130 wpm | Sentences = runs of text ending in . ! or ?

The counting assumptions used on this page

Measure	Rule used on this page
Reading speed	200 words per minute (average silent reading)
Speaking speed	130 words per minute (average spoken delivery)
What counts as a word	A run of letters or numbers, allowing internal apostrophes or hyphens (don't = 1 word, well-known = 1 word)
What counts as a sentence	A run of text ending in . ! or ? — a final fragment with words but no closing punctuation still counts as 1
Paragraphs	Blocks of text separated by one or more blank lines

Paste or type your text and every figure updates live. A word is a run of letters or numbers that may contain internal apostrophes or hyphens, so “don't” and “well-known” each count as one word, while a standalone dash or a string of punctuation counts as none. Characters are counted two ways — with spaces and without — because different submission systems use different rules, and sentences are counted by their ending punctuation (. ! or ?) — text that contains words but no closing punctuation at all still counts as one sentence.

Reading time assumes 200 words per minute, the widely used average for silent reading of English prose, and speaking time assumes 130 words per minute, the average for spoken delivery such as a speech or presentation script. Both are estimates built on those stated assumptions, not measurements of you: dense technical text reads slower, and a rehearsed speaker may run faster. The assumptions table below states every convention openly so you can adjust your own estimate from the raw word count.

Your text is never uploaded. The counting runs entirely in your browser on your own device — nothing you paste is sent to a server, stored or tracked — so drafts, essays and unpublished work stay exactly where they belong.

Worked examples

The fox passage: 19 words, 2 sentences

Input: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The dog was not amused, but the fox ran on.
Working: Words are counted by the token rule: 19 in total, 14 of them unique, the longest being “amused”. Characters: 88 including spaces, 70 without. Sentences end at the two full stops: 2. Reading time = 19 ÷ 200 = 0.095 minutes (about 6 seconds); speaking time = 19 ÷ 130 ≈ 0.146 minutes (about 9 seconds).
Result: 19 words · 88 characters · 2 sentences · 1 paragraph

Two words: “Hello world”

Input: Hello world
Working: Two word tokens, 11 characters including the single space and 10 without it. There is no closing punctuation, but the fragment contains words, so it counts as 1 sentence. Both words are 5 letters, so the average word length is exactly 5.
Result: 2 words · 11 characters · 1 sentence · average word length 5

A five-word sentence: reading and speaking time

Input: One two three four five.
Working: 5 words and 1 sentence. Characters: 24 including spaces and the full stop, 20 without spaces. Reading time = 5 ÷ 200 = 0.025 minutes; speaking time = 5 ÷ 130 ≈ 0.038 minutes.
Result: 5 words · 24 characters · reading 0.025 min · speaking ≈0.038 min

Frequently asked questions

What counts as a word?

A run of letters or numbers, allowing apostrophes or hyphens inside it. “Don't” is one word and “well-known” is one word; numbers like “2026” also count as words. Standalone punctuation and symbols do not count. This matches the convention most word processors use, so counts should agree closely with your editor.

How are reading and speaking times worked out?

Reading time is the word count divided by 200 words per minute; speaking time is the word count divided by 130 words per minute. A 1,300-word speech therefore shows about 10 minutes of speaking time. Both figures are planning estimates based on those stated averages — your own pace may differ.

Why does my sentence count look low for text with abbreviations?

Sentences are counted from ending punctuation (. ! or ?), so an abbreviation such as “Dr.” contains a full stop that the counter reads as a sentence boundary only when it forms a complete punctuated run — in practice, abbreviations and decimal numbers can shift the count by one either way. Treat the sentence figure as a close mechanical count, not a grammatical parse.

Does a character limit count spaces?

It depends on the platform, which is why this tool shows both figures: characters including spaces and characters with spaces removed. Check the limit you are writing to against the matching figure — application forms usually count spaces, while some older submission systems do not.

Is my text uploaded or saved anywhere?

No. The counter runs 100% in your browser. Your text is processed on your own device and is never sent to a server, stored or tracked. Close the tab and it is gone.