Free Word Counter
A word counter counts the words in a piece of text. This free word counter also counts characters, sentences and paragraphs, estimates reading and speaking time, and lists the words and phrases you repeat most. Paste any text up to 500 KB; it is counted on our server and never stored. It suits bloggers, students, copywriters and SEO teams.
Word Counter
Text and Content
About this tool
Words are counted the way word processors count them: anything between spaces that contains a letter or a digit is one word, so "e-mail", "don't" and "3.5" each count once. Characters are counted as you see them, so an emoji with a skin tone is one character, not two. Sentences end at a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark followed by a space, which means abbreviations such as "e.g." can add one, so treat that number as close rather than exact. Reading time assumes 200 words a minute and speaking time 130, common averages for adult readers and presenters.
The most common mistake is writing to a word count instead of to the question. Search engines do not reward length for its own sake, and a short page that fully answers a question can outrank a long one that pads. The keyword tables help here. If one phrase appears far more often than any other, read the text aloud: it probably sounds forced, and readers notice that before search engines do.
At SEO SMO HUB we run client drafts through these counts before they are published. We compare the length with the pages already ranking for the target search, confirm the main topic shows up naturally among the top phrases, and trim the repetition that makes copy read as if it was written for a robot.
Frequently asked questions
How does the word counter decide what counts as a word?
Any run of characters between spaces that contains at least one letter or digit counts as one word. Hyphenated words, contractions and numbers with decimals each count once, and stray symbols such as a lone dash do not count. Chinese and Japanese characters count one word each, which matches how most word processors handle them.
How long should a blog post or web page be for SEO?
There is no fixed length that ranks. Look at the pages already on page one for your target search and cover the topic at least as completely as they do, then stop. A focused answer beats a padded one. Use the word count to compare your draft with those pages, not as a goal in itself.
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time divides the word count by 200 words per minute, a common average for adults reading on screen, and speaking time divides it by 130, a comfortable presentation pace. Both are estimates: technical text reads slower, and a list reads faster. They are useful for labelling articles and timing scripts, not for exact planning.
Is my text stored or shared when I use this tool?
No. Your text is sent to our server only to be counted, the result comes straight back to your browser, and the text is never saved, logged or shared. There is no signup and no daily limit. Each run accepts up to 500 KB of text, which is roughly 80,000 words of English.