Free online word counter
Word Counter: count words online, instantly
Paste your text into this free word counter tool to see word, character, and sentence counts update instantly.
Words
0
Characters
0
No spaces
0
Sentences
0
Paragraphs
0
Lines
0
Social media limits
URLs count as 23 chars on X
First 125 chars shown in feed before "more"
First ~210 chars shown before "see more"
Free and instant. No account. Saved locally in your browser — never uploaded.
How it works
01
Paste your text
Drop or paste any text into the box above — no file upload, no formatting to strip out first.
02
Stats appear instantly
Every metric updates in real time as you type, from word count to grade level.
03
Copy or clear
Use your results, then clear the box with one click to start on the next piece of text.
Instant
Results appear as you type, no button needed.
Private
Nothing is sent to any server. Ever.
Free
No subscription, no trial, no credit card.
No account
Start using immediately, no signup.
What is a word counter?
A word counter is a free online tool that counts the number of words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs in a piece of text. Writers, students, and editors use a word count checker to measure length against a target — a college essay with a 500-word minimum, a cover letter capped at one page, or a blog post aimed at a specific SEO length. TextsTool's online word counter does this instantly, in your browser, without uploading your text anywhere.
Beyond the basic word count, this word counter tool also shows characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, lines, reading time, speaking time, a Flesch-Kincaid grade level, letter frequency, and live progress bars for the Twitter/X, Instagram, and LinkedIn character limits. Everything you need to check a draft sits in one place, so you don't have to jump between tabs.
How to use this online word counter
Using the word counter online takes seconds. Click the text box at the top of this page and start typing, or paste text you've copied from a document, email, web page, or PDF. The word count and every other stat update live as you type — there's no button to press and no page reload. When you're done, use Copy text to grab your edited draft, or Clear to start fresh. There's nothing to install, no account to create, and no limit on how often you use it.
Why word count matters
Most writing has a length requirement, whether it's set by a teacher, an editor, a platform, or a client. Academic essays, job applications, and press releases often specify an exact word count, and going over or under can mean a rejected submission. Beyond hard limits, word count is also a rough proxy for scope: a 2,000-word article covers more ground than a 200-word one, and knowing the number helps writers pace a draft before they're deep into it.
Common word count targets
Not sure how long your text should be? Some typical lengths: the Common App college essay allows up to 650 words, most blog posts that rank well in search fall between 1,000 and 2,000 words, short stories usually run from 1,000 to 7,500 words, and a full-length novel is typically 70,000 to 100,000 words. Always check the exact requirement from your teacher, publisher, or client, then use this word counter to make sure you land on target.
How our word counter works
Behind the scenes, the word count splits your text wherever there's a space, tab, or line break, and counts each resulting chunk that contains at least one letter or number. That means stray punctuation, like a lone dash between two spaces, isn't counted as a word, while numbers like 2026 are. Contractions such as "don't" and "it's" count as one word, matching how most teachers, editors, and word processors count them. Character count simply measures the length of your text, with a separate count that excludes spaces for platforms that measure differently. Sentence and paragraph counts use punctuation and line breaks respectively, and line count tracks the raw number of line breaks — useful for checking against row-based limits like spreadsheet imports. Reading time and speaking time are estimated from word count using average reading and speaking speeds, and the Flesch-Kincaid grade level score estimates how easy the text is to read based on sentence length and syllable count.
Do hyphenated words count as one word?
Yes. In this wordcounter, hyphenated words count as one word, because there's no space inside them. "Well-known", "state-of-the-art", and "mother-in-law" each add exactly one to your total. This matches how Microsoft Word counts hyphenated words, so your number here should line up with what your editor or teacher sees. Some other tools split hyphenated words in two, so a small difference between word counters is normal. If you want two joined words counted separately, put a space between them.
How to count words in a PDF
Looking for a PDF wordcounter? You can use this one without uploading your file. Open the PDF in your browser or PDF reader, select the text (Ctrl+A on Windows or Cmd+A on Mac selects everything in most readers), copy it, and paste it into the box above. You'll get an instant word count without sending a private document to anyone's server. Scanned PDFs, where each page is a picture of text, can't be selected or copied — for those, run the file through an OCR tool first, then paste the result here.
Word counter vs. character counter
A word count checker and a character counter measure different things, and which one matters depends on the platform. Academic and publishing word limits are almost always counted in words, while social media platforms, SMS, and meta descriptions are measured in characters — a short word like "cat" is one word but three characters, so the two counts rarely move in lockstep. TextsTool shows both side by side, along with a live comparison against Twitter/X, Instagram, and LinkedIn's character limits, so you don't need two separate tools to check a draft against both kinds of limit. If characters are all you need, our dedicatedcharacter countergoes into even more detail.
Why choose TextsTool as your word counter website
Many word counter websites are cluttered with pop-ups, sign-up prompts, and premium upgrades. TextsTool keeps it simple: the page loads fast, works on desktop and mobile, and stays completely free with no account. Your text is processed locally in your browser and never uploaded, which matters when you're checking a confidential report, an unpublished manuscript, or a job application. Whether you search for "word counter", "online word counter", or just "wordcounter", the goal is the same — an accurate count, right now, with nothing in the way.
Whether you're trimming an essay to fit a strict word count, checking a caption against a character limit, or just curious how long a piece of writing really is, this word counter gives you an accurate answer the moment you paste your text in. Need to know how long a speech or article will take? Try thereading time calculatorfor an adjustable words-per-minute estimate.
Who uses TextsTool word counter?
Students
- Hit exact word counts for essays and assignments
- Check citation and bibliography length separately
- Avoid going over strict submission limits
Writers
- Track daily word count goals
- Estimate chapter or article length while drafting
- Check pacing against a target word count
Marketers
- Fit copy into character-limited ad placements
- Check blog posts against target SEO word counts
- Compare word count across campaign drafts
Developers
- Check commit messages or changelog length
- Count words in documentation drafts
- Validate text field length before shipping
Frequently asked questions
How do I count the number of words in my text?
Paste or type your text into the box above — Word Counter updates the word count instantly as you type, with no need to click a button.
Does Word Counter count characters with spaces or without spaces?
Both. We show character count with spaces and without spaces as separate stat cards, so you can match whichever limit you're working against.
What is the Twitter/X character limit?
Standard posts on X (formerly Twitter) are limited to 280 characters. Our live limit bar shows exactly how close your text is to that cap.
Do hyphenated words count as one word?
Yes. This word counter counts hyphenated words as one word, because there is no space inside them — "well-known" and "state-of-the-art" each count as a single word, the same way Microsoft Word counts them.
Can I count words in a PDF?
Yes. Open the PDF, select and copy its text, then paste it into the box above for an instant word count — no file upload needed. Scanned PDFs that are images of text can't be copied and need OCR first.
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time is estimated using an average adult silent reading speed of 238 words per minute. Speaking time uses an average speaking pace of about 130 words per minute.
What is the Flesch-Kincaid grade level?
It's a readability score that estimates the U.S. school grade level needed to understand your text, based on average sentence length and syllables per word. Lower scores mean easier-to-read text.
Does Word Counter store or save my text?
All counting happens locally in your browser using JavaScript, and your text is saved to your browser's local storage so it's still there if you refresh the page. It is never uploaded or transmitted to a server.
Can I use Word Counter for essays, resumes, or social media posts?
Yes. Word Counter works well for any text — essays with strict word limits, resumes, captions, or long-form articles.
Is there a limit to how much text I can paste in?
No hard limit. Word Counter is built to handle anything from a short tweet to a full article, though extremely long documents (100,000+ words) may slow down your browser slightly.
Is this the same as a word count checker?
"Word counter" and "word count checker" describe the same kind of tool. This one also adds character, sentence, paragraph, and line counts, reading time, and a readability score on top of the basic word count.