Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, and reading time. Live update as you type.
Count words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, and reading time. Live update as you type.
Word Counter is a daily-use tool for writers, editors, students, and SEO professionals. Count exact words for an essay assignment, monitor blog post length for SEO target ranges, check tweet/character limits for X/LinkedIn, or estimate reading time for a newsletter.
Pick Rack's Word Counter updates live as you type — no Submit button, no rate limit, no upload. Built with simple browser JavaScript: word boundaries detected via Unicode-aware regex, sentence detection by punctuation, paragraph detection by blank lines.
Free, no signup. Counts words, characters with spaces, characters without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, and reading time at 200 words/minute (adjustable). Useful when writing emails, articles, applications, social media, or copy.
Key features
- Live counting (no Submit button) — Stats update on every keystroke — no need to click anything.
- Six metrics — Words, characters with spaces, characters without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, reading time.
- Reading time at adjustable WPM — Default 200 wpm (average adult silent reading). Adjust to 150 (cautious) or 250 (fast) as needed.
- Top words frequency — Quick view of most-used words — useful to catch repetition in your writing.
- Browser-side, zero tracking — Your text stays in the textarea. Nothing logged or sent.
How to use
- Step 1: Paste or type your text — The textarea accepts any length — emails, essays, articles, books.
- Step 2: Read the live stats — Words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, and reading time update on every keystroke.
- Step 3: Adjust as needed — Cut to fit a Twitter post (280 chars), an essay limit (500 words), or an SEO target (1500-2500 words).
When to use
- Hit an essay word limit (500, 1000, 2500 words) without overshooting
- Match SEO article range — most ranking blog posts are 1,500-2,500 words
- Stay under social media limits: Twitter/X 280 chars, LinkedIn 3000, Instagram caption 2200
- Estimate reading time for newsletter or article preview ('5 min read')
- Catch redundant words via top-words frequency before submitting copy
- Compare draft sizes when revising — paste before/after to see net change
Frequently asked questions
Is my text sent to your server?
No. All counting runs in your browser. Type or paste freely — even sensitive drafts. Nothing is logged or transmitted.
How are words counted?
Words are split by whitespace and filtered to non-empty tokens. Compound words like 'mother-in-law' count as one word; numbers like '2026' count as one word; URLs count as one word each.
Why does the character count differ between 'with spaces' and 'without spaces'?
Twitter/X counts characters with spaces (each space is one character). Some forms count without. Both are shown so you can match either spec.
How is reading time calculated?
Default formula: words ÷ 200 words/minute. Average adult silent reading is 200-250 wpm; aloud is ~150 wpm. Adjust the WPM input to match your audience.
Does this count Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese characters correctly?
Vietnamese: word counting uses whitespace, so works correctly. Chinese/Japanese without spaces: each character is treated as a 'word' since there are no spaces — approximate but reasonable for length comparison.
Can I save my text or count history?
v1 is stateless — refresh and your text is gone (privacy benefit). For drafts, save to a separate document. History feature is on the roadmap with localStorage.
What about syllable counts or Flesch reading ease?
Out of scope for this tool. For readability scores, try Hemingway Editor or Readable.com.
Is there a max length?
No hard limit. Browsers handle ~5MB of text fine in a textarea. Beyond that, performance drops.