What does the word and character counter do?
Word and character limits are everywhere: essays and assignments, job applications, meta titles and descriptions, ad headlines, social posts and SMS messages. This tool counts everything in one go, so you don't have to paste the same text into several counters.
You get the number of words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs and unique words. Reading time is based on an average silent reading speed of about 238 words per minute, and speaking time on about 150 words per minute, useful for speeches, videos and presentations.
The tool also estimates readability with the Flesch Reading Ease score (designed for English), shows your average sentence length, lists your most-used words so you can spot repetition, and checks your text against common limits: a 60-character title tag, a 155-character meta description, a 280-character post on X and longer limits for Instagram and LinkedIn.
Using the Word & Character Counter for your business
Word count is a guide, not a ranking factor: what matters is whether a page answers the searcher's question better than the competition. Our SEO services plan and write content around real search demand, and if you also run ads, our Google Ads team writes ad copy that fits every character limit and gets the click.
How to use the Word & Character Counter
- Paste or type your text. Any length up to 200,000 characters.
- Click Count words. All the counts appear at once.
- Check reading time and readability. Shorten long sentences if readability is low.
- Compare with the limits. Green means it fits; red means you need to trim.
- Review your most-used words. Swap repeated words for alternatives where it reads better.
Why use this word counter
Every count at once
Words, characters (with and without spaces), sentences, paragraphs and unique words.
Reading and speaking time
Plan blog posts, scripts and speeches accurately.
Readability feedback
Flesch score and sentence length help keep writing clear.
Limit checks
Know instantly if your text fits titles, descriptions and social posts.
How long should your content be?
For SEO, there's no ideal word count. Google rewards pages that answer the searcher's question completely, which can take 300 words for a simple question or 2,000+ for a detailed guide. Look at the pages currently ranking for your topic to see what depth people expect.
For readability, aim for an average sentence length under about 20 words and a Flesch score of 60 or higher for general audiences. Short paragraphs, clear headings and bullet points make long content easier to read on phones.
For titles and descriptions, the character count matters more than words. Keep title tags around 50–60 characters and meta descriptions around 140–155, so they display in full in search results.
Writing in another language? The word, character, sentence and paragraph counts work for any language that separates words with spaces, including Hindi, Spanish and French. Reading time is a good estimate across languages too. Only the Flesch readability score is English-specific, so treat it as a rough guide for other languages.
Students and job seekers often need to hit an exact word range for essays, personal statements and application questions. Paste each answer separately so you can see whether it fits, then use the most-used words list to cut repetition. For translations and transcripts priced per word, the unique word and character counts help you estimate the work quickly.
Frequently asked questions
How are words counted?
A word is any run of letters or numbers, including words joined by hyphens or apostrophes such as "well-known" or "don't".
Do characters include spaces?
We show both: total characters including spaces, and characters without spaces.
How is reading time calculated?
Using an average adult silent reading speed of about 238 words per minute.
Does the readability score work for other languages?
The Flesch score is designed for English. Counts work for any language.
Is my text stored?
No. Your text is analysed and then discarded; it isn't saved.