How to use the Word Counter
- Type in the box, paste text, or drop a .txt file onto it.
- Read the live counts above the editor — they update with every keystroke.
- Set a word target to see a progress bar for essays and assignments.
- Check “Top words” to spot a word you are leaning on too heavily.
How words are counted
A word is a run of letters or digits. Contractions and hyphenated compounds count as one word, so don’t and well-known are one word each — the same rule Microsoft Word and Google Docs use. Numbers such as 2026 count as words. Punctuation, emoji and stray symbols do not.
Chinese and Japanese are written without spaces, so each ideograph or kana character counts as one word. That matches how word limits are usually set for those languages.
Reading and speaking time
Reading time assumes 238 words per minute, the average silent reading speed for adult English non-fiction found in a 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies. Speaking time assumes 150 words per minute, a comfortable pace for a talk or a video script.
| Words | Reading time | Speaking time | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 | ~1 min 15 sec | 2 min | Short blog post, cover letter |
| 500 | ~2 min | 3 min 20 sec | News article, one-page essay |
| 1,000 | ~4 min 12 sec | 6 min 40 sec | Long-form post, 10-minute talk outline |
| 2,000 | ~8 min 24 sec | 13 min 20 sec | In-depth guide |
How many pages is that?
A single-spaced page in a 12-point font holds roughly 500 words; double-spaced, about 250. So a 1,500-word essay is about three single-spaced or six double-spaced pages. Page counts vary with font, margins and headings — if a limit is strict, trust the word count, not the page count.
Frequently asked questions
Is my text saved or uploaded anywhere?
No. Counting happens in your browser with JavaScript. Your text is never sent to a server. If you turn on “Keep my text”, it is stored only in this browser’s local storage so it survives a refresh.
Why is my count different from Microsoft Word?
Tools disagree on edge cases: an em dash between words with no spaces, URLs, or numbers with separators. We count hyphenated words and contractions as one word, like Word does. Differences are usually a handful of words in a long document.
Do spaces count as characters?
Both numbers are shown: “Characters” includes spaces and line breaks, and “Characters (no spaces)” excludes all whitespace. Most social platforms count spaces; many academic character limits do not.
How many words is a 5-minute speech?
At a typical 150 words per minute, about 750 words. A slower, deliberate delivery (120 wpm) is closer to 600 words; a fast one (170 wpm) about 850.
Does it work for languages other than English?
Yes. Accented letters, Cyrillic, Greek, Arabic and other scripts are counted correctly, and Chinese and Japanese characters are each counted as a word.