Word Counter
Paste or type your text to count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs instantly. You also get reading and speaking time and the keywords you use most, which helps with essays, assignments, blog posts and SEO copy.
Count words
How words are counted
A word is any run of letters or numbers. Hyphenated words such as well-known and contractions such as don’t count as one word, which matches Microsoft Word and Google Docs. Punctuation, emoji and symbols on their own are not words.
Reading and speaking time
Reading time = words ÷ 238 words per minuteSpeaking time = words ÷ 130 words per minute238 wpm is the average silent reading speed for adults reading non-fiction in English (Brysbaert, 2019); 130 wpm is a comfortable presentation pace.
Typical word counts
| Type of writing | Usual length |
|---|---|
| Tweet / X post | Up to 280 characters (about 40–50 words) |
| Meta description | About 25–30 words (150–160 characters) |
| Short story (flash fiction) | Under 1,000 words |
| Blog post | 1,000–2,500 words |
| College admission essay | 250–650 words (Common App max 650) |
| Undergraduate essay | 1,500–3,000 words |
| Master’s dissertation | 10,000–20,000 words |
| Novel | 70,000–100,000 words |
Words per page
| Words | Single-spaced | Double-spaced |
|---|---|---|
| 250 | ½ page | 1 page |
| 500 | 1 page | 2 pages |
| 1,000 | 2 pages | 4 pages |
| 1,500 | 3 pages | 6 pages |
| 2,000 | 4 pages | 8 pages |
Based on 12 pt Times New Roman with 2.5 cm (1 inch) margins. Larger fonts and headings reduce the words per page.
Frequently asked questions
Is my text saved or sent anywhere?
No. Counting happens in your browser; nothing you type is uploaded or stored.
Why is my count different from Microsoft Word?
Tools treat dashes, slashes and numbers slightly differently. Words joined by a slash (and/or) count as two here; an em dash between words without spaces counts as a separator.
What is keyword density?
The share of all words taken up by one word. A word used 5 times in a 250-word text has a density of 2%. Common words such as “the” and “and” are left out of the list.