Word & Character Counter
Count words, characters, sentences, and estimate reading time
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Words
0
Characters
0
Without spaces
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Sentences
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Paragraphs
0 min
Reading time
Got your character count? Here's what to do next
Stick to limits without the guesswork — count characters for your next post, meta description, or keyword list in seconds.
Tip: SEO meta descriptions should stay under 160 characters — run yours through this counter before publishing.
- Type or paste your text directly into the large text area above.
- The statistics (words, characters, sentences, etc.) will update automatically in real-time as you type.
- Use the "Copy text" button to quickly copy your content to the clipboard.
- Use the "Clear" button to reset the text area and start over.
Input Text:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. This is a classic pangram. It contains every letter of the English alphabet!
Output Stats:
Words: 22
Characters: 123
Sentences: 3
Reading time: 1 min
What is the difference between words and characters?
A word is a sequence of characters separated by spaces. A character is any single letter, number, punctuation mark, or space. For example, "Hello world" is 2 words and 11 characters.
How does the reading time calculation work?
Reading time is estimated based on an average reading speed of 200 words per minute. We divide your total word count by 200 and round up to the nearest minute.
What counts as a sentence?
Our tool counts sentences by looking for standard sentence-ending punctuation marks: periods (.), exclamation points (!), and question marks (?).
Why do I need a word counter?
Word counters are essential for meeting specific length requirements for essays, articles, social media posts (like Twitter's character limit), SEO meta descriptions, and professional documents.
How do I count characters in a Word document?
In Microsoft Word, the character count appears in the status bar at the bottom left. Click it to open the detailed Word Count dialog, which shows characters with and without spaces. Alternatively, paste your text into this free character counter to get the same numbers instantly.
How many characters are in a tweet?
X (Twitter) allows 280 characters per post. Your character count includes letters, numbers, spaces, and punctuation — the same way this counter counts them. Paste your draft here before posting to make sure it fits.
How long should a meta description be in characters?
Google typically displays meta descriptions up to about 155-160 characters. Staying under 160 characters avoids truncation in search results, so aim for 140-155 characters with your primary keyword and a call to action.
How many characters are in a page of text?
A typical double-spaced page holds roughly 2,000 to 2,500 characters including spaces, which is about 300-350 words. Single-spaced pages hold roughly double that. Use this counter to check any text against your page or word-count requirement.