Word and Character Counter
Count words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, reading time and speaking time as you type.
Statistics
Words: 0
Characters: 0
Characters (without spaces): 0
Sentences: 0
Paragraphs: 0
Reading Time: 0 sec
Speaking Time: 0 sec
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What is a Word and Character Counter?
A word counter is a free online tool that counts the words, characters, sentences and paragraphs in your text as you type. It is useful for students with essay word limits, bloggers and writers, social media managers who must stay within character limits, and translators who are paid per word or per character.
Example
Text: WebToolsKit is free. It counts words, characters and sentences.
| Statistic | Result |
|---|---|
| Words | 9 |
| Characters (with spaces) | 63 |
| Characters (without spaces) | 55 |
| Sentences | 2 |
| Paragraphs | 1 |
How each count works
| Statistic | How it is counted |
|---|---|
| Words | Groups of characters separated by spaces or line breaks. Extra spaces are ignored. |
| Characters | Every letter, number, symbol and space. |
| Characters (without spaces) | Same as above, with all spaces and line breaks removed. |
| Sentences | Text ending with a full stop, question mark, exclamation mark or the Hindi purna viram (।). |
| Paragraphs | Blocks of text separated by a line break. |
How to Use the Word Counter
- Type or paste your text into the box. You can paste from Word, a PDF, a website or any app.
- The counts update automatically as you type. There is no button to click.
- Read the Statistics: words, characters, characters without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, reading time and speaking time.
- Click Copy Text to copy your text, or Clear to start over.
Difference Between Words and Characters
A word is a group of letters separated by spaces. A character is every single letter, number, symbol and space. Word count matters for essays and articles. Character count matters for SMS, social media posts and SEO titles.
| Text | Words | Characters (with spaces) | Characters (without spaces) |
|---|---|---|---|
| WebToolsKit is free | 3 | 19 | 17 |
Character Limits for Popular Platforms
| Platform | Field | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Bio | 150 characters | |
| Caption | 2,200 characters | |
| X (Twitter) | Post (standard account) | 280 characters |
| Post | 3,000 characters | |
| YouTube | Title | 100 characters |
| YouTube | Description | 5,000 characters |
| Google search | Page title (shown) | About 60 characters |
| Google search | Meta description (shown) | About 155-160 characters |
Platform limits can change, so check the platform's own help page. Google does not enforce a title or description length. It only shortens what it shows, and the cut-off depends on the pixel width of the text.
Reading Time and Speaking Time
Reading time assumes an average speed of 200 words per minute. Speaking time assumes 130 words per minute. Your actual speed may be faster or slower.
| Words | Reading time | Speaking time |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 30 sec | 46 sec |
| 250 | 1 min 15 sec | 1 min 55 sec |
| 500 | 2 min 30 sec | 3 min 51 sec |
| 1,000 | 5 min | 7 min 42 sec |
| 2,000 | 10 min | 15 min 23 sec |
Who Needs a Word Counter?
- Students: check that an essay or assignment meets its word limit, for example 500 or 1,000 words.
- Bloggers and SEO writers: check the length of your article, title and meta description. Google does not set a minimum word count, so write as long as the topic needs.
- Social media managers: stay within caption, bio and post limits.
- Writers and translators: estimate reading time, and count words or characters for per-word or per-character pricing.
Why Use the WebToolsKit Word Counter?
- Free: no signup and no word limit set by us.
- Private: your text is processed in your browser. It is never sent to our server or stored.
- Live: counts update as you type.
- Complete: characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, reading time and speaking time.
- Works with English, Hindi and Hinglish text.
Difference Between Words and Characters?
Beginners often get confused. Word: A group of letters separated by space. For example, "WebToolsKit is free" = 3 words. Character: Every single letter, number, space, and symbol. Same sentence "WebToolsKit is free" = 18 characters with spaces, 16 without spaces. For SMS, Twitter, SEO Meta Title - character count is important. For essays, articles - word count is important.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it count Hindi words?
Yes. Words are counted by the spaces between them, so Hindi, Hinglish and English text all work. Characters are counted as Unicode characters, so a Hindi word with matras shows more characters than the letters you see. For example, "हिंदी" is counted as 5 characters. Languages written without spaces, such as Chinese and Japanese, are not counted correctly as words.
Is my text saved?
No. Your text stays in your browser and is cleared when you close or refresh the page.
Can it count words in a PDF?
Copy the text from your PDF and paste it into the box. For scanned PDFs, the text must be selectable first, otherwise there is nothing to copy.
Why is my word count different in MS Word or Google Docs?
Different tools treat hyphenated words, dashes, line breaks and symbols differently. A small difference is normal.
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time is the word count divided by an average reading speed of 200 words per minute. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute.
Does Google require 1,000+ words to rank?
No. Google does not set a minimum word count. A page ranks based on how well it answers the search query, not on its length.