Frequently Asked Questions

How do I count the words in my text?

Paste or type your text into the word counter and it shows the number of words the moment you stop typing. It also counts characters, sentences, paragraphs, and estimated reading and speaking time at the same time. Nothing is submitted; the count updates live with every keystroke.

Is my text uploaded or stored anywhere?

No. All of the counting happens locally in your web browser, so your text never leaves your device and is never sent to a server. You can paste private or unpublished drafts without them being uploaded, logged, or stored anywhere.

Does it work on my phone, and does it work offline?

Yes. Word Counter works the same on phones, tablets, and computers, with no app to install. Because the counting runs entirely in your browser, it keeps working even if your connection drops after the page has loaded.

Is the word counter free? Do I need an account?

Word Counter is completely free, with no sign-up and nothing to install. There is no account, no login, and no limit on how much text you can count.

Is there a limit on how much text I can paste?

There is no limit set by the tool. Because everything is counted by your own device, the practical ceiling is your browser and your hardware rather than any rule here. Full chapters and complete manuscripts count fine on ordinary laptops and phones; only extremely large documents, well past normal book length, will feel slow.

How do I count just one paragraph or section?

Highlight it. The line above the statistics reports the word and character count of whatever you have selected, and it updates as you drag. That is the quickest way to check a single paragraph against a limit, measure a quotation, or find out which section of a long draft is carrying the excess length.

Does the counter save my work if I close the tab?

No. Nothing is written to browser storage, so closing or reloading the page clears the box completely. Keep your draft in whatever you normally write with and paste it here to measure it; this tool is a measuring instrument rather than a place to store work.

How many words is one page?

A standard page holds about 250 words double-spaced or 500 words single-spaced, based on 12pt Times New Roman with 1-inch margins. Font, size, spacing, and margins all change the exact number. See the words-per-page guide for a full breakdown.

How many pages is 1,000 words?

About 4 pages double-spaced or 2 pages single-spaced, in a standard 12pt font. Larger fonts or wider margins push it higher. The words-to-pages chart lists common word counts from 250 to 5,000 words.

How many words per minute do people speak?

Presentations and speeches average around 130 words per minute, which is the pace the speaking-time estimate uses. Conversational speech can be faster, closer to 150, while a slow, clear delivery is nearer 110 to 120 words per minute. That works out to roughly 650 words for a 5-minute speech.

How long does it take to read my text?

The reading-time estimate uses 225 words per minute, in line with the 225-240 range reading research finds for average adult silent reading. At that pace, 1,000 words takes a little over 4 minutes to read. Reading aloud is slower, so the tool shows a separate speaking-time estimate as well.

How long does it take to read 1,000 words aloud?

About 5 to 6 minutes at a natural reading-aloud pace of 170 to 200 words per minute, and 7 minutes 42 seconds at the 130 words per minute presentation pace this site uses. Reading from a page is faster than presenting, because presenting adds pauses, emphasis, and time lost to slides and questions. The reading speed guide breaks the rates down by task.

How many words is a 5-minute speech?

Roughly 650 words at an average presentation pace of 130 words per minute. Aim slightly under that rather than exactly at it, because pauses, slide changes, and audience reactions all consume time that never appears in the script. The speech length guide converts every common slot into a word budget.

How accurate is the reading time estimate?

It is accurate as an average and approximate for any individual. Reading rate varies with subject familiarity, vocabulary, screen versus paper, and how carefully someone is reading, so a figure that is right for a general audience can be well off for one reader. The 225 words per minute figure is deliberately a little below the research average, so most readers will finish faster than the estimate rather than slower.

Does it count characters with and without spaces?

Yes. Word Counter shows both a total character count, which includes spaces, and a characters-without-spaces count. The with-spaces total is what most social and SEO limits measure, while characters without spaces is often what typography and design fields use.

How are sentences counted?

Sentences are counted by looking for sentence-ending punctuation: periods, question marks, exclamation points, and ellipses. The counter is built to skip false endings, so decimals like 3.5 and common abbreviations like Mr. or e.g. do not split a sentence. Very unusual punctuation can still shift the estimate slightly.

What is keyword density?

Keyword density is how often each word appears as a share of your total words. Word Counter lists your most-used keywords with a count and percentage, skipping common filler words like the and and so the meaningful terms stand out. It is a quick way to check whether you are leaning on a word too heavily or hitting a target term enough.

Do spaces count as characters?

Yes, in the main character total, and that is the number nearly every real limit measures. Social platforms, SMS, and search-display budgets all count spaces, punctuation, and line breaks as characters. A second figure shows the total with all whitespace removed, which is what translation quotes and some design briefs ask for, so both numbers are visible at once.

Are hyphenated words one word or two?

One. A hyphenated compound such as state-of-the-art contains no spaces, so it counts as a single word here, in Microsoft Word, and in Google Docs. That is the convention almost every institution uses. A very small number of tools split on hyphens and would count four, which is one of the more common reasons two counters disagree.

Do numbers and dates count as words?

Yes. Any run of characters bounded by whitespace counts as one word, so 1,500 is one word, 12/05/2026 is one word, and a standalone symbol with spaces around it counts as one too. Writing a number as 1 500 with a space instead of a comma turns it into two words, which occasionally explains a small unexpected jump in a count.

Do emoji count as characters?

Most emoji count as two characters rather than one, because of how text is stored internally. That is not a quirk unique to this tool; several social platforms count them the same way, which is why a post that looks short can hit a character limit sooner than expected. Skin-tone and family emoji built from several joined symbols can count higher still.

How are paragraphs counted?

A blank line separates paragraphs. Blocks of text divided by one or more empty lines count as separate paragraphs, while a block containing only single line breaks counts as one. If you paste from a word processor that uses single returns between paragraphs, the count will come out lower than what you see on screen; adding a blank line between blocks fixes it.

Is the unique word count case-sensitive?

No. Case and surrounding punctuation are ignored, so Writing, writing, and writing, all count as the same word. Comparing unique words to total words is a quick vocabulary check: a 500-word passage using only 120 different words is repeating itself far more than one using 280.

Does it work with languages other than English?

Word and character counting work for any language that separates words with spaces, which covers most European languages. Languages written without spaces between words, such as Chinese and Japanese, cannot be word-counted by this method, though the character counts remain meaningful. Reading and speaking time estimates are based on English rates and should be treated as rough for other languages.

Why does my count differ from Microsoft Word?

Usually because the two of you are counting different text. Word counts everything in the document by default, including headings, captions, footnotes, endnotes, and text boxes, and it counts the visible state of tracked changes. Copy just the body text into a counter and the numbers normally land within a word or two of each other.

Do headings count toward a word count?

Every automated counter, including this one and every word processor, counts headings as words because they are visible text. Whether they count toward your particular limit is a separate decision made by your instructor, journal, or client. When a limit excludes headings, references, or footnotes, paste only the sections that count rather than reporting the status bar figure.

Why did my count change after pasting from a word processor?

Word processors substitute characters as you type: straight quotes become curly ones, double hyphens become long dashes, and ordinary spaces sometimes become non-breaking spaces. Those substitutions can change a character count and, in the case of a dash inserted without spaces, join two words into one. Pasting as plain text avoids most of it.

How do I find my average sentence length?

Divide the word count by the sentence count. A 640-word passage with 32 sentences averages 20 words per sentence, which sits at the top of the comfortable range for general writing. Do it a page at a time rather than across a whole document, because an average hides the individual sentences causing trouble. The sentence length guide covers the targets.