Count the words in any text instantly, as you type.
A live word counter for essays, articles and anything written to a limit. Shows the word count alongside characters, sentences, paragraphs and estimated reading time.
Everything you enter stays in this browser tab. Nothing is sent to our servers, logged or stored.
This is one of the thingsText Counterdoes — open it for everything else it supports.
Loading tool…
What Text Counter supports
Word countLive count as you type
Character countWith and without spaces
Sentences & paragraphs
Line count
Reading & speaking time
Platform limitsSEO, SMS and social caps
Word frequency
About Word Counter
Word counts govern most writing. University essays specify them, publications enforce them, and briefs are priced by them. A live count while you write is far more useful than one you check at the end, because it tells you whether to expand a point or cut one while you are still in the paragraph.
This counts words the same way a word processor does — sequences separated by whitespace — so the number here should match what your editor reports. Hyphenated compounds count as one word, and numbers count as words.
How to count words
1
Paste or type
Put your text in the box. The count appears immediately.
2
Watch it update
The word count recalculates on every keystroke, so you always know where you stand.
3
Check the other statistics
Sentences, paragraphs, characters and reading time are shown alongside.
Frequently asked questions
How are words counted?
As sequences of characters separated by whitespace, which is the same convention word processors use. A hyphenated compound like state-of-the-art counts as one word, and a number counts as a word.
Will this match my word processor?
In almost all cases yes. Small differences can appear with unusual punctuation, footnote markers or embedded fields, but for ordinary prose the numbers agree.
Is my writing uploaded?
No. Counting happens entirely in your browser as you type. Nothing is transmitted or stored, which matters for unpublished drafts and confidential documents.
Can I count words in a long document?
Yes, there is no length limit. Very long documents may feel marginally less responsive while typing, since the count recalculates continuously, but the result stays accurate.