How to use the Word Counter
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Word counts for common writing
Blog posts that rank well often run from about 1,000 to 2,000 words, while a news article is usually 500 to 800. A college admissions essay is commonly capped at around 650 words, and a cover letter reads best under 400. On social media, short posts get read more, so checking the number of words and characters before you post helps you trim.
How the counts are made
The word and character counts update as soon as you paste or type, in real time. Words are separated by spaces and line breaks, so a hyphenated word like well-known counts as one. Reading time assumes an average adult reading speed of roughly 200 to 250 words per minute, so treat it as a guide rather than a stopwatch.
How it works
Words are split on whitespace; sentence and paragraph counts are best-effort.
Examples
- A short sentence
Words: 10 Characters: 80 Characters without spaces: 71 Sentences (approx.): 1
- Two short paragraphs
Words: 10 Characters: 64 Characters without spaces: 54 Sentences (approx.): 2
Limitations and assumptions
Paste text to calculate its length and reading statistics. No text is uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
How are words counted?
Text is split on whitespace, so a hyphenated word counts as one word.
How is reading time estimated?
Word count divided by an average adult reading speed of about 200 to 250 words per minute.
Is my text uploaded?
No. Counting happens locally in your browser.
How many characters is a tweet or meta description?
Check the platform limits; meta descriptions are commonly kept near 150 to 160 characters.