Free online word counter

Every figure updates on the next keystroke. Nothing needs to be submitted.

• Words — space-separated tokens containing a letter or number, so hyphenated words and contractions count once.
• Characters — with and without spaces, counted by character rather than by byte, so an emoji or an accented letter counts as one.
• Sentences — separated by a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark. Decimals, initials and common abbreviations like “Dr.” do not split a sentence.
• Paragraphs — blocks of text separated by a blank line.
• Lines and unique words — useful for lists, scripts and checking repetition.

Reading time is your word count divided by a reading speed, shown as minutes and seconds. The default is 238 words per minute, which is the average silent reading speed for adults reading non-fiction. Technical material is slower; a familiar subject is faster, so the panel lets you move the speed to match your own audience.

A 1,000-word article is roughly four minutes at that speed. If you are writing for a publication with a “5 minute read” badge, aim for about 1,200 words.

Speaking time uses a slower rate, because reading aloud takes longer than reading silently. 150 words per minute is a natural presentation pace; nervous or rushed delivery runs closer to 170, and a deliberate, emphatic pace closer to 130. The speaking time calculator shows all three side by side, and the readability checker flags the sentences long enough that you will need a breath.

Keyword density is how often a word or phrase appears as a share of the total word count. Use it as a repetition check rather than a target: search engines stopped rewarding a specific percentage a long time ago. If one term is well above two or three per cent, the writing usually reads as repetitive to a human before it looks unnatural to a crawler.

The keywords panel counts single words and two- and three-word phrases, and can ignore function words like “the” and “of” so the list reflects your subject.

Writing is often unfinished, confidential or both — a cover letter, a legal complaint, a school essay, an unannounced product. A word counter has no reason to see any of it.

EasyWordCounter processes your writing locally in your browser. We do not upload your writing to our servers, because there is no server involved in the counting at all. Drafts are saved to your own device, and Private mode switches saving off completely. Read the full privacy policy for the detail.