Word & Character Counter

Count words, characters, sentences, and estimate reading time.

0
Characters
0
No Spaces
0
Words
0
Sentences
0
Paragraphs
0
Lines
~1 min
Reading Time
~1 min
Speaking Time

What It Does

Word Counter gives you a real-time breakdown of your text: word count, character count (with and without spaces), sentence count, paragraph count, and estimated reading and speaking time. Useful for blog posts, essays, social media copy, and any content with a length target.

Reading and Speaking Speed Reference

  • Average silent reading speed: ~238 words/min
  • Average speaking speed: ~130 words/min
  • Comfortable presentation pace: ~100–120 words/min
  • Audiobook narration: ~150–160 words/min

Word Count Targets by Content Type

  • Tweet / X post — under 280 characters
  • LinkedIn post — 150–300 words
  • Email newsletter — 200–500 words
  • SEO blog post — 1,200–2,000 words
  • Long-form article — 2,000–4,000 words
  • Short story — 1,000–7,500 words
  • Novella — 17,500–40,000 words
  • Novel — 80,000–100,000 words

Character Limits for Common Platforms

  • Twitter / X — 280 characters (spaces count)
  • Instagram caption — 2,200 characters
  • Google Ads headline — 30 characters
  • Google Ads description — 90 characters
  • Meta title (SEO) — 50–60 characters
  • Meta description (SEO) — 150–160 characters

Frequently Asked Questions

How is reading time calculated?
Reading time is estimated by dividing the word count by the average adult silent reading speed of 200–238 words per minute. The result is approximate — dense technical content is read more slowly, while simple prose is read faster.
Does the character count include spaces?
The counter shows both counts: characters with spaces and characters without spaces. This matters for platforms like Twitter/X (which counts spaces) versus SMS or some publishing tools that measure characters excluding whitespace.
What counts as a word?
Words are counted by splitting on whitespace boundaries. Hyphenated words like "well-known" are typically counted as one word. Numbers, abbreviations, and standalone punctuation handling varies by implementation.
What are typical word count targets for different content types?
Tweet: under 280 characters. LinkedIn post: 150–300 words. Blog post: 1,200–2,000 words for SEO. Long-form article: 2,000–4,000 words. Short story: 1,000–7,500 words. Novel: 80,000–100,000 words.
How long does it take to speak 1,000 words?
At an average speaking pace of 130 words per minute, 1,000 words takes approximately 7–8 minutes to deliver. For a presentation, budget 100–120 words per minute to allow for pauses.