Text Tools
Free Online Word Counter
Paste or type your text below to instantly count words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, and estimated reading time — right here in your browser.
How to use the word counter
- Paste or type your text into the box above.
- Counts for words, characters, sentences and paragraphs update automatically as you type.
- Check the estimated reading time to gauge how long the text takes to read aloud or silently.
- Use "Copy text" to copy your content, or "Clear" to start over.
Example
Typing the sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." returns 9 words, 44 characters (including spaces), 1 sentence, and an estimated reading time of under a minute — useful for quickly checking essay word counts, social captions, or meta description lengths.
Why use a free online word counter?
Whether you're writing an essay with a strict word limit, drafting a resume, checking an SEO meta description, or hitting a social media character cap, knowing your exact word and character count matters. This free online word counter gives you an instant, accurate count without opening a word processor or installing any software.
Built for speed and privacy
The counter updates as you type using client-side JavaScript — nothing is uploaded to a server, so your draft, essay, or private notes stay on your device. It works equally well on desktop and mobile browsers, with no page reloads and no waiting.
Frequently asked questions
Text is split on whitespace, so any sequence of characters separated by spaces or line breaks counts as one word.
The tool shows both totals: character count including spaces, and character count excluding spaces.
No. Counting happens instantly in your browser with JavaScript. Nothing you type is sent to a server.
Reading time is estimated at an average reading speed of 200 words per minute.