Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and reading time.
Text
Private by design. Everything runs locally in your browser. Your input is never uploaded, logged or stored on a server.
How to use the Word Counter
- Type directly or paste your text; every count updates as you go.
- Read words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs and lines.
- Adjust the reading and speaking speeds to match your audience.
- Use the reading time to size a post, and the speaking time to size a talk.
A worked example
A 500-word draft at the default 200 wpm
Reading time 2.5 min · speaking time ~3.3 min at 150 wpm
Speaking is slower than reading, which is why a blog post read aloud always overruns its slot. Both figures come from the speeds you set, not from a fixed rule.
Frequently asked questions
How are words counted?
Any run of non-whitespace characters counts as one word. Hyphenated compounds count once; numbers and symbols separated by spaces each count as a word.
Does the character count include spaces?
Both figures are shown: total characters including spaces, and characters excluding all whitespace. Social platforms and form limits usually mean the first.
How is reading time calculated?
Word count divided by 225 words per minute by default, which is a typical adult silent reading speed. You can change the rate to match your audience.
Is my text stored?
No. Counting happens in your browser and the text is never sent anywhere or saved.
About the Word Counter
Counts update on every keystroke, so you can write straight into the box and watch the limits.
The counting rules are worth knowing because different tools disagree. Words are runs of non-whitespace, so a hyphenated compound counts as one word and an em-dash between words does not merge them. Sentences are terminated by ., ! or ?, which means abbreviations such as "e.g." inflate the count slightly. Paragraphs are separated by a blank line.
Reading time assumes 225 words per minute, the usual figure for adult silent reading of general prose. Speaking time assumes 150 words per minute, a comfortable presentation pace. Both rates are adjustable.
Maintained by Ikonode. Last checked against the code on 11 September 2026.
What it does not do
- Words are separated by whitespace, so Chinese and Japanese text — written without spaces — is measured by character count instead.
- Reading and speaking times are estimates from a words-per-minute rate, not measurements of your text.
- It counts what is in the box. It does not open documents or read files.