How this word counter counts
The counter makes a few simple, predictable decisions, so you can tell why its number may differ from Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
- Words: the text is trimmed, then split on any run of whitespace (spaces, tabs, line breaks). Each chunk is one word, so
well-knownanddon'tare one word each, while a stray-surrounded by spaces counts as a word. - Characters: counted by Unicode code point, not UTF-16 unit, so an emoji such as a single smiley counts as 1 rather than 2. The "No spaces" figure removes every whitespace character, including line breaks, first.
- Sentences: one sentence per run of
.,!or?followed by whitespace or the end of the text. Abbreviations like "e.g. " or "Dr. " therefore add extra sentences, and text with no punctuation at all counts as 1. - Paragraphs: blocks separated by at least one blank line. A single line break does not start a new paragraph, but it does add to the Lines count.
- Reading time: words divided by 200 words per minute, rounded up. Under a minute it is shown in seconds.
Worked example
Take this input, which has a blank line between two paragraphs:
The quick brown fox. Is it fast? Yes! (blank line) Second paragraph here.
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Words | 11 |
| Characters (with spaces and the two line breaks) | 61 |
| Characters, no spaces | 50 |
| Sentences | 4 |
| Paragraphs | 2 |
| Reading time | 4 sec (11 / 200 min, rounded up) |
Which number do you need?
Different limits are measured differently, so check which figure applies before you trim anything.
- Essay and assignment limits almost always use word count. Check whether the limit includes headings and the bibliography, because this tool counts everything you paste.
- Meta descriptions, ad headlines and SMS use character counts, usually with spaces. For search snippets, aim for roughly 150 to 160 characters; the character counter shows those limits directly.
- Speeches are better planned by time. Spoken pace is nearer 130 to 150 words per minute, so the 200 wpm reading figure will understate a speaking time.
Common mistakes and edge cases
- Text pasted from a PDF often contains hard line breaks mid-sentence. They do not change the word count, but they inflate the line count. Clean them first with Remove Line Breaks.
- Numbers, URLs and email addresses each count as a single word, because they contain no whitespace.
- Languages written without spaces between words, such as Chinese and Japanese, will register as very few "words". Use the character count for those.
- If you want to see which words you overuse rather than how many you have, try the word frequency counter.