Paste or type your text and watch live counts for words, characters, sentences and paragraphs — plus reading and speaking time. Your draft autosaves in this browser, and nothing is ever uploaded anywhere.
A widely cited meta-analysis by Brysbaert (Journal of Memory and Language, 2019) measured average silent reading at about 238 words per minute for non-fiction and 260 for fiction, across 190 studies. This counter uses a conservative 200 words per minute for reading time, so its estimate leans slightly long rather than short — better for planning a talk or checking an essay than a figure that flatters you. Dense academic prose reads slower still, so treat every reading-time number as a planning estimate, not a measurement.
Essay word limits are strict — 10% over can cost marks. Check before submitting, then use our essay word counter for assignment-specific tips and our assignment PDF merger to assemble the final file.
Article briefs, SEO targets, newsletter lengths — counts keep you on spec without opening a heavy word processor.
Cover letters and CV summaries have unspoken length limits. A 250–400-word cover letter reads best; this counter tells you where you stand instantly.
Speaking time at 130 words per minute turns a script into a schedule: a 1,300-word talk is ten minutes. Rehearse to the estimate, then trim.
Character counts without spaces drive translation quotes; paragraph and sentence counts help editors scope a job.
Unpublished manuscripts and job applications deserve privacy. Nothing here is uploaded — the counting code runs entirely on your device.
Words are split on whitespace — the standard approach, but some word processors treat hyphenated words or numbers slightly differently. A one-or-two-word difference against Word is normal.
Reading speed varies by text difficulty and reader. Use the times for planning, not as promises.
Autosave lives in this browser only. Switch devices and the draft does not follow — download the .txt first.
Yes — unlimited text, every count, forever. No account, no payment details.
Text is split on whitespace, so every run of characters separated by spaces, tabs or line breaks counts as one word. Numbers count as words and hyphenated words count as one.
Reading time divides your word count by 200 words per minute; speaking time uses 130 words per minute. Both are estimates — dense text reads slower.
No. Counting happens in JavaScript on this page. A draft saves only in your own browser's local storage, and the Clear button wipes it.
Yes, both figures are shown live. Counts with spaces match most submission forms; counts without spaces suit translation quotes.
Yes. Students use it to check essay word limits before submission. For essay-specific guidance, see our word counter for essays.
Yes. Copy puts the text on your clipboard; Download saves it as a plain .txt file.
The draft stays in your browser's local storage until you clear it. It is never sent to any server.