Does it count numbers or symbols as words?

Anything separated by whitespace counts as a word, including numbers and standalone symbols, matching how most word processors count.

Is my text sent anywhere?

No — counting happens entirely in your browser as you type; nothing is uploaded.

How is paragraph count determined?

By counting blocks of text separated by line breaks, so pressing Enter to start a new paragraph is what the counter picks up on.

Does it count a hyphenated word as one word or two?

One — the counter splits on whitespace only, so a hyphenated compound word like 'well-known' counts as a single word.

How does it count sentences?

It counts runs of one or more ., !, or ? characters, so an ellipsis like '...' counts as a single sentence-ending, not three.

What exactly counts as a paragraph?

Any block of text separated by one or more line breaks — a blank line isn't required, a single Enter is enough to start a new paragraph.

Is there a minimum reading time shown?

Yes — even an empty or very short text shows at least 1 minute, since the estimate rounds up rather than ever showing 0.

Does pasting formatted text, like from a Word document, affect the count?

Only the plain text content is counted — bold, fonts, and other formatting don't factor in, though any line breaks and spacing that come along with the paste do affect paragraph and character counts.

Word Counter

About the Word Counter

Counts words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs in any text you paste or type, and estimates reading time — useful for essays, posts, or meeting a length limit.

100% Free Runs in Your Browser No Sign-Up Required

How to use it

Paste or type your text into the field.
Read the live word, character, sentence, and paragraph counts, plus estimated reading time.

Formula

Words = count of whitespace-separated tokens
Reading time = word count ÷ 200 (an average adult reading speed of roughly 200 words per minute), rounded up

Worked example

A 500-word draft comes out to about a 3-minute read at the standard 200-words-per-minute estimate.

Recommendations

• For social media, check the platform's specific character limit rather than word count alone — they don't always correlate.
• Reading time assumes silent reading of plain text; technical or dense material will take noticeably longer in practice.
• Paste in outline or draft form to track progress toward a target length as you write.

Frequently asked questions

200 words per minute is a general average — dense technical writing tends to read slower, casual text often reads faster.

Related tools

Case Converter

Lorem Ipsum Generator

Image to Text (OCR)

Palindrome & Anagram Checker

Regex Tester

Typing Speed Test

CSV ↔ JSON Converter

Content Read Time Calculator