Word Counter — Free Online Word & Character Count
Count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs instantly. Includes reading time, speaking time, keyword density and social media limits. Free, fast, no sign-up.
Free Word Counter Tool
Count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs instantly. See reading time, speaking time, keyword density and social media character limits.
Social Media Character Limits
Top Keywords (Density)
How to Count Words in Your Text
Paste or type your text into the box above. The word counter instantly analyses your text and shows words, characters (with and without spaces), sentences, paragraphs, reading time (~225 words/min) and speaking time (~130 words/min). It also shows keyword density for SEO and checks your text against social media character limits for Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and TikTok.
What This Word Counter Does
This free word counter analyses your text in real time as you type or paste. Unlike basic counters that only show word and character totals, this tool gives you a complete text analysis: word count, character count (with and without spaces), sentence count, paragraph count, estimated reading time, estimated speaking time, top keyword density, and live progress bars against every major social media platform's character limit.
It runs entirely in your browser — your text is never sent to a server or stored anywhere. It's completely private.
Why Word Count Matters
Knowing your word count is essential for academic essays, blog posts, social media updates, job applications, and professional writing. Universities set strict word limits (most essays require 1,500-5,000 words). Google tends to rank blog posts of 1,500-2,500 words higher for informational queries. Social media platforms enforce hard character limits. Getting the length right isn't optional — it's a requirement.
Word Count Guidelines by Content Type
| Content Type | Ideal Word Count | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tweet / X post | 40-70 words | 280 character limit forces brevity |
| Instagram caption | 50-150 words | Engagement drops after 2,200 chars |
| LinkedIn post | 100-300 words | 3,000 char limit; short posts get more engagement |
| Blog post (SEO) | 1,500-2,500 words | Long-form ranks higher for informational queries |
| University essay | 1,500-5,000 words | Varies by assignment; always check requirements |
| Cover letter | 250-400 words | One page maximum; concise and specific |
| Product description | 100-300 words | Enough for SEO and buyer decision-making |
| Email newsletter | 200-500 words | Readers scan emails; shorter is better |
| Novel chapter | 3,000-5,000 words | Standard for fiction publishing |
| Press release | 300-500 words | Journalists prefer tight, factual releases |
Reading Time vs Speaking Time
The average adult reads silently at 200-250 words per minute (this calculator uses 225 WPM). Speaking aloud is slower — most people present at 120-150 words per minute (this calculator uses 130 WPM). These estimates help you plan presentations, podcast scripts, video voiceovers, and speeches. A 10-minute presentation needs roughly 1,300 words. A 5-minute YouTube script needs about 650-750 words.
Social Media Character Limits (2026)
- Twitter / X: 280 characters (free), 25,000 characters (Premium)
- Instagram: 2,200 characters per caption, 150 characters before "more" truncation
- Facebook: 63,206 characters per post, but engagement peaks under 80 characters
- LinkedIn: 3,000 characters per post, 120 characters for headline
- TikTok: 2,200 characters per caption
- YouTube: 5,000 characters per description, 100 characters per title
- Pinterest: 500 characters per pin description
What Is Keyword Density?
Keyword density is how often a specific word appears relative to the total word count, expressed as a percentage. For SEO, ideal keyword density is 1-2% for your primary keyword. Overusing a keyword (above 3%) is called "keyword stuffing" and can hurt your Google rankings. This tool shows your top 8 most-used words (excluding common stop words) with their count and percentage.
How Word Count Is Calculated
A "word" is defined as any sequence of characters separated by whitespace (spaces, tabs, or line breaks). Hyphenated terms like "well-known" count as one word. Numbers like "2026" count as one word. Contractions like "don't" count as one word. Sentences are counted by splitting on full stops, question marks, and exclamation marks. Paragraphs are blocks of text separated by one or more blank lines.
Related Tools
Frequently Asked Questions
Paste or type text into the box above. Word count, characters, sentences and paragraphs update instantly in real time.
Any group of characters separated by spaces. Hyphenated words ("well-known") count as one word. Numbers ("2026") count as one word.
About 4-5 minutes reading silently (225 WPM average). About 7-8 minutes speaking aloud (130 WPM average).
280 characters for free accounts. Premium subscribers can post up to 25,000 characters.
No. Everything runs in your browser. Your text is never sent to any server or stored anywhere.
1-2% for your primary keyword. Above 3% risks keyword stuffing penalties from Google.