Why count words?
A word counter is useful whenever a text has a limit. Students get essays of "at least 800 words" or "no more than 1,500 words". College application essays often cap at 650 words, and a cover letter should fit on one page, which is roughly 250 to 400 words. Editors commission articles of a set length, and translators and copywriters often charge per word. Online, character limits rule: Google cuts meta descriptions off at about 155 characters, an SMS holds 160 characters and a post on X is limited to 280.
This tool shows all of those numbers at once, live as you type, so you don't have to dig through menus in Word or Google Docs.
How the counter works
- Words: anything separated by spaces, tabs or line breaks counts as one word. "Well-known" is one word, and "12.5" counts as one word too. Stand-alone punctuation (such as a lone dash) is not counted.
- Characters with spaces: every character, including spaces and punctuation. This is the figure most character limits use.
- Characters without spaces: handy for assignments and translation agencies that ignore spaces.
- Sentences: a sentence ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark. Abbreviations such as "e.g." may raise the count slightly.
- Paragraphs: blocks of text separated by a blank line or a line break.
- Reading time: based on an average silent reading speed of about 220 words per minute on screen. Speaking time uses about 130 words per minute, a typical pace for a presentation.
Different programs count slightly differently. Word, for example, treats "and/or" as one word while other counters see two. Small differences of a few words are normal, so leave a small margin when a limit is strict.
Example
Take the text: "Calcosmo does the maths for you. Fast and free!"
- words: 9
- characters with spaces: 47
- characters without spaces: 39
- sentences: 2
A 1,200-word article takes about 1,200 ÷ 220 ≈ 5.5 minutes to read, and around 9 minutes to read aloud.
How long is a typical text?
| Type of text | Usual length |
|---|---|
| Social media post | 20–50 words |
| Meta description | 120–155 characters |
| Cover letter | 250–400 words |
| Single-spaced page | about 500 words |
| Blog post | 800–2,000 words |
| Dissertation | 10,000–20,000 words |
A single-spaced page in 11 or 12 point type holds about 500 words. Double-spaced, it is roughly 250 words, which is why "a five-page double-spaced essay" means about 1,250 words.
Tips for writing to a word limit
- Write first, cut later. Don't watch the count while drafting; it slows you down.
- Cut filler. Words like "really", "basically", "actually" and "in order to" can almost always go without changing the meaning.
- Prefer the active voice. "The committee approved the plan" is shorter and clearer than "The plan was approved by the committee".
- Too short? Add an example, a figure or a source instead of repeating yourself. That also makes the text stronger.
Privacy
Counting happens entirely in your browser with JavaScript. Your text is never sent to a server and never stored, so confidential documents are safe to check. Close the page and the text is gone.
Frequently asked questions
Does a number count as a word?
Yes. A number such as 2026 or 12.5 counts as one word, just as in Word and Google Docs.
Do spaces count as characters?
In "characters with spaces" they do; in "characters without spaces" they don't. Most limits, such as those on social media and in forms, include spaces.
Why does Word show a different word count?
Programs differ in how they treat dashes, slashes and stray punctuation. The difference is usually only a few words on a full page.
How many words are on a page?
About 500 words single-spaced and about 250 double-spaced, with 12 point type and normal margins.
Is my text saved anywhere?
No. Everything runs in your own browser. Nothing is sent to our server and nothing is kept.
How is reading time calculated?
We divide the word count by 220, an average reading speed for adults reading on a screen. Technical texts usually take longer.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-06. Results are estimates for information only.