Word Counter

Counting words, characters, and reading time

A word counter tallies the text you paste: total words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, and an estimated reading time. It sounds trivial, but the definition of a "word" is where tools quietly disagree. Most split on runs of whitespace, so state-of-the-art counts as one word while e mail counts as two. Knowing the rule matters when you are hitting a hard limit.

Where the limits bite

Character limits are everywhere: a meta description wants roughly 155 characters, a bio field might cap at 160, and an SMS message splits after 160 GSM characters. Word counts drive essay requirements, abstract limits, and content briefs. Reading time, usually computed at 200 to 250 words per minute, helps you label an article honestly.

Example

Input:

The quick brown fox jumps.

Output:

Words: 5
Characters: 26
Characters (no spaces): 22
Sentences: 1
Reading time: < 1 min

FAQ

Why does my count differ from my word processor?Processors have their own rules for hyphenation, numbers, and symbols. A standalone & or a bare number may or may not count as a word depending on the tool.

Do emoji count as characters? A single emoji can be several code units under the hood, so naive length checks overcount. A counter that works on Unicode code points gives you one per visible glyph in most cases.

Is reading time reliable? It is an estimate. Dense technical prose reads slower than a casual blog post, so treat the number as a label, not a promise.