A 1,500-word article
Reading time ≈ 1,500 ÷ 238 = 6 min 18 s. Speaking time ≈ 1,500 ÷ 130 = 11 min 32 s.
Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs as you type, with reading and speaking time.
Counts
Start typing or paste text — the counts update as you go.
Runs in your browser — nothing you enter is sent to a server.
How the Word Counter works
Type or paste text and the counts update as you go. Words are found with your browser's built-in language rules, so contractions (don't), numbers (3.14) and languages that don't use spaces are counted correctly, and punctuation or extra spaces never count as words.
Characters are counted the way you see them: an emoji like 👍🏽 or an accented letter is one character. Your text is processed only in your browser and is never uploaded.
Formula
time = words ÷ rate
Where:
- rate
- 238 words per minute for silent reading, 130 for speaking aloud
These are adult averages; technical text reads slower and casual text faster.
Examples
Paragraphs
Paragraphs are blocks of text separated by an empty line. A single line break keeps the same paragraph.
Frequently asked questions
Why might my word processor show a slightly different count?
Programs disagree on edge cases such as hyphenated words, URLs and numbers with symbols. This counter follows the Unicode word-boundary rules built into your browser, which are consistent across languages.
Is my text saved or sent anywhere?
No. Counting happens in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded, and it's gone when you close or clear the page.
How long should an essay or post be?
It depends on the assignment or platform. Many blog posts run 1,000–2,000 words; many college essays are capped around 650. Check the specific requirement — and use the Character Counter for character limits.
Related tools
Character Counter
Count characters against limits for posts, meta tags and SMS, with remaining characters, bytes and SMS parts.
Text Tools