Does it count spaces as characters?

Yes, the character count includes spaces. We also show character count without spaces.

Is there a text size limit?

No, you can paste text of any length.

How is reading time estimated?

By dividing the word count by roughly 200 words per minute, the average adult silent reading speed — a 1,000-word article takes about 5 minutes to read.

Does word count match what Twitter/X or SMS platforms count?

Not exactly — those platforms count characters, not words, and often use a shorter limit for characters without spaces. Check both figures shown here against the specific platform's limit.

Word Counter

Count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs in your text instantly.

Words

Characters

Chars (no spaces)

Sentences

Paragraphs

Read time (min)

How to Use

1
Paste or type your text
Enter any text into the input area.
2
View live counts
Word, character, sentence, and paragraph counts update instantly.

How It Works

This tool counts words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs as you type or paste text, using the same boundary rules writers, editors, and platforms typically apply — so the count matches what you'd get pasting into a word processor or a form with a character limit.

How words and characters are counted

Words are counted by splitting on whitespace and punctuation boundaries, so "well-known" and "don't" each count as intended rather than being split apart. Character count includes every character (letters, numbers, punctuation, spaces); a separate "characters without spaces" figure is also shown since many platforms (like SMS or meta description limits) count that differently.

Sentences and paragraphs

Sentences are detected by terminal punctuation (. ! ?), and paragraphs by line breaks — useful for checking essay structure or matching a required paragraph count without manually counting.

Examples

Twitter/X post limit

X (Twitter) counts by characters, not words, with a 280-character limit for standard accounts — paste your draft in to see both counts before posting.

SEO meta description

Google typically displays up to roughly 155-160 characters of a meta description before truncating it — the character count (not word count) is what determines whether your description gets cut off in search results.

Common Use Cases

Checking essays, assignments, or applications against a required word count or limit
Fitting text into character-limited fields — tweets, SMS, meta descriptions, ad copy
Estimating reading time for an article or script (roughly word count ÷ 200 words-per-minute)
Trimming resumes or cover letters to a target length

Tips

If a limit is specified as "characters" rather than "words" (common for social media and SEO fields), check the character count, not the word count — the two limits behave very differently for long words vs. short ones.
"Characters without spaces" is the figure some strict character-limit systems (older SMS gateways, certain form validators) actually enforce — check both numbers if you hit an unexpected rejection.
For a rough reading-time estimate, divide word count by 200 (average adult silent reading speed) — a 1,000-word article takes about 5 minutes to read.

Frequently Asked Questions

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