Word Counter

Free word counter: paste or type your text to count words, characters with and without spaces, sentences and paragraphs, plus reading time and keywords.

Free, no account and no AI. Your text is counted in your browser and is never sent to Scholarize or anyone else; it is saved only in this browser so it is still here if you come back.

How it works

Paste or type your text in the box. The counts update as you type.
Read off the words, characters (with and without spaces), sentences and paragraphs.
Optionally set a target word count to see a progress bar toward an essay limit.
Check the reading and speaking time, and the most repeated keywords.

How the counts are worked out

Every counter makes small choices about what counts. These are the rules this one uses, so you can compare it with your word processor or your teacher's limit.

Words: a word is a run of letters or numbers. A hyphen or an apostrophe inside a word keeps it as one word, so well-known, don't and 2-3 each count once. A dash or a punctuation mark standing on its own is not a word.
Characters with spaces: every letter, number, punctuation mark and space, but not the line breaks between paragraphs. Characters without spaces leaves out spaces, tabs and line breaks.
Sentences: a stretch of text that ends with a period, question mark, exclamation mark or ellipsis, or the last stretch of text even without one. Abbreviations such as Dr. or e.g. are counted as sentence ends, so the sentence count can run slightly high.
Paragraphs: each line that contains text. Blank lines are ignored, so text with or without empty lines between paragraphs gives the same count.
Reading time assumes 238 words per minute, the average silent reading rate for English non-fiction reported in a 2019 review of reading-speed studies by Marc Brysbaert. Speaking time assumes 140 words per minute, a typical pace for a presentation. Both are assumptions: your own pace may be faster or slower.
Keywords: the words you use most, ignoring common words such as the, and, of and is, words shorter than three letters, and numbers. Density is that word's share of the total word count.

Why your word count may differ from Word or Google Docs

Word processors agree on ordinary prose but differ at the edges: some count a dash with spaces around it as a word, some split hyphenated words into two, and some count a number with a decimal point differently. Footnotes, headers and text boxes may or may not be included. On a normal essay the difference is usually a few words either way.

If an assignment has a strict limit, check whether your instructor counts the title, the references or quotations, and use the counter they name. This one is for drafting quickly without opening another program.

Common word count limits

Common App personal essay: up to 650 words.
Twitter or X post: 280 characters on a standard account. Meta descriptions for web pages are usually kept to about 155 characters so search engines do not cut them off.
A one-page, double-spaced essay in a 12-point font is roughly 250 to 300 words; single-spaced is roughly double that. Fonts, margins and paragraph length change this, so treat it as an estimate.
Assignment limits are often given with a tolerance, such as 10 percent either way. Read the brief: some instructors stop reading at the limit.

Hitting a word count without padding

Too long: cut repeated points first, then sentences that announce what comes next (In this essay I will...), then long quotations that you could paraphrase.
Too short: add evidence or a counterargument rather than longer sentences. A body paragraph usually has room for one more example and a sentence explaining it.
Use the keyword list to spot a word you lean on too often, and find a more precise one.

Writing the essay itself

Plan the paragraphs before you count them: the essay outline template gives you a fillable outline, and the thesis statement generator drafts a thesis and three alternatives for your topic. When you cite sources, the citation generator formats APA, MLA and Chicago references.

More free tools, including a Pomodoro study timer and a percentage calculator, are on the tools page.

Frequently asked questions

Is this word counter free?

Yes. It is free with no account and no limit on length, and it runs in your browser. Your text is not uploaded anywhere.

Does it count hyphenated words as one word?

Yes. A hyphen or apostrophe between letters keeps the word together, so well-known and don't each count as one word. A dash with spaces around it is not counted as a word.

How is reading time calculated?

Word count divided by 238 words per minute, the average silent reading rate for English non-fiction in a 2019 review by Marc Brysbaert. Speaking time uses 140 words per minute. Both are assumptions; your own pace will vary.

Does it count characters with and without spaces?

Both. Characters with spaces includes letters, numbers, punctuation and spaces but not line breaks. Characters without spaces leaves out all spaces, tabs and line breaks.

Is my text saved?

It is saved only in this browser on this device, so it is still there if you reload the page. Press Clear to remove it. Nothing is sent to a server.

How many words is a page?

Roughly 250 to 300 words for a double-spaced page in a 12-point font, and roughly 500 to 600 single-spaced. It depends on the font, margins and paragraph breaks, so treat it as an estimate.

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