# Word and character counter

> Free word counter and character counter. Paste text to count words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, and reading time.

Canonical: https://usefulshelf.co/tools/word-counter

Count words, characters, sentences, and reading time for any text you paste.

## Your details

Runs in your browser. No sign-in or URL fetching. Enable JavaScript to use the form. The instructions and sample output below are available without JavaScript.

- Your text (required)

For URL fields, https:// is optional. For example, example.com.

Action: Count words. Output filename: `word-count.txt`.

## How to use this tool

Paste a title, description, post, or article to count its words and characters. Characters are counted as people see them, so emoji and accented letters count once. Counting happens in your browser and your text is not saved.

1. Paste the text you want to measure. Line breaks separate paragraphs.
2. Count the text and check it against the limit you are writing for, such as a form, profile, or assignment.
3. For page titles and descriptions, use the SERP preview tool to see how the copy reads in a search result.

## Example output

Illustrative Example app data. Replace these values with your own verified details.

```text
Words: 15
Characters: 102
Characters without spaces: 87
Sentences: 3
Paragraphs: 2
Reading time: about 4 sec at 238 words per minute

```

## Common questions

### How is reading time calculated?

It divides the word count by 238 words per minute, a typical silent reading speed for adults reading nonfiction. Actual reading time varies with the reader and the difficulty of the text.

### Why might another counter show a different number?

Tools split words differently around hyphens, numbers, and punctuation, and some count bytes or code units instead of visible characters. This counter follows the Unicode rules for word and character boundaries.

Guide: [Title Tag and Meta Description Length: What Google Shows](https://usefulshelf.co/blog/title-tag-length).

Reference: [Unicode: text segmentation](https://www.unicode.org/reports/tr29/).

## Check your published changes

After publishing, use the [search and AI visibility checker](https://usefulshelf.co/check) to inspect your public HTML and crawler access. It reports technical signals; it cannot predict indexing, rankings, or AI recommendations.

Building a useful app? [See what a reviewed UsefulShelf listing includes](https://usefulshelf.co/pricing).

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