About this tool
Whether you're hitting an exact word count for an assignment, staying under a character limit for a social post, or estimating how long an article will take to read, manually counting is impractical for anything beyond a sentence or two. This tool counts words, characters (with and without spaces), sentences, and paragraphs in real time as you type or paste text, and estimates reading time based on an average reading speed. It's useful for writers checking assignment or submission requirements, marketers fitting copy into a strict character limit, and anyone who wants a quick sense of how long a piece of text actually is. All counting happens instantly in your browser as you type.
Frequently asked questions
Does character count include spaces?
Both counts are shown — character count including spaces and character count excluding spaces — so you can match whichever requirement you're working against.
How is reading time estimated?
Reading time is calculated from word count divided by an average adult reading speed, giving a rough estimate rather than an exact measure, since actual reading speed varies by person and content.
Does it count paragraphs correctly with multiple blank lines?
Yes, paragraph counting is based on line breaks, treating consecutive blank lines as a single paragraph separator rather than counting each blank line.
Does it update as I type?
Yes, all counts update live in real time as you type or paste text, with no need to click a button to refresh.
Can I count text pasted from a Word document?
Yes, pasted text from any source works the same way — formatting is ignored and only the plain text content is counted.