Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs in real time, with reading time and keyword density.
About the Word Counter
This free online word counter counts words, characters, sentences and paragraphs the instant you type or paste text. There is no upload, no sign-up and no word limit — everything is calculated live in your browser. Alongside the basic counts you also get an estimated reading time at 200 words per minute and a speaking time at 130 words per minute, which is ideal for planning speeches, presentations and voice-over scripts.
The tool also analyses keyword density, showing the five most frequent meaningful words in your text along with how often each appears and what percentage of the total it represents. Common stopwords like "the" and "and" are excluded, so the results reflect the topics your writing actually focuses on — a quick way to spot keyword stuffing or check SEO focus before publishing.
Students use it to hit essay word limits, writers and bloggers use it to size articles, and social media managers use the character count to stay inside Twitter/X, Instagram and meta-description limits. Because nothing leaves your device, it is safe to paste confidential drafts, emails and reports.
How to Use the Word Counter
- 1Type or paste your text into the box.
- 2Watch the word, character, sentence and paragraph counts update live.
- 3Check the reading and speaking time estimates for your content.
- 4Review the keyword density table to see your most-used words.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I count words in an essay?
Paste your essay into the text box above and the word count appears instantly — no button to press. The counter treats any run of letters, numbers, apostrophes or hyphens as one word, the same method most teachers and word processors use, so the number will match what Microsoft Word or Google Docs reports in almost all cases.
Does the character count include spaces?
Both figures are shown. "Characters" counts every character including spaces and line breaks, which is what platforms like Twitter/X (280 characters) and Google meta descriptions (~155 characters) measure. "Characters (no spaces)" strips all whitespace first, a figure often used for translation billing and some academic submissions.
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time divides your word count by 200 words per minute, the widely accepted average silent reading speed for adults. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute, a comfortable presentation pace. A 1,000-word article therefore takes about 5 minutes to read and roughly 7 minutes 40 seconds to speak aloud.
What is keyword density and why does it matter?
Keyword density is how often a word appears as a percentage of total words. If "marketing" appears 12 times in a 600-word post, its density is 2%. SEO writers use it to confirm the page stays on topic without keyword stuffing; most aim to keep any single keyword under about 2–3%.
Is my text uploaded or stored anywhere?
No. All counting happens in your browser using JavaScript — the text never leaves your device, is never sent to a server and is discarded as soon as you close or refresh the page. That makes the tool safe for confidential documents, unpublished manuscripts and private emails.