Free tool
Word Counter
Count words, characters and reading time — instantly.
Saved in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Words
0
Characters
0
No spaces
0
characters
Sentences
0
Paragraphs
0
Reading time
0 min
speaking 0 min
Platform limits
Characters used against each platform’s cap.
Keyword density
Your five most repeated words, excluding common stopwords.
Start typing and your top keywords will appear here.
What does this word counter measure?
Paste or type any text and every statistic updates live as you write: word count, character count (with and without spaces), sentences, paragraphs, estimated reading time and estimated speaking time. Nothing is uploaded — all counting happens instantly in your browser, and your draft is saved locally so a page reload never loses your work. It handles everything from a one-line tweet to a 10,000-word essay without slowing down.
Why character limits matter
Every platform truncates or rejects text differently: X cuts posts at 280 characters, Instagram captions stop at 2,200, LinkedIn posts at 3,000, a single SMS segment holds 160, and Google typically displays around 160 characters of a meta description before trimming it with an ellipsis. Writing blind against those limits means awkward edits at publish time. The platform limits panel shows exactly how much room you have left on each one — green while you are safe, amber as you approach the cap, and red with an exact overage count when you have gone past it.
Reading time, speaking time and keyword density
Reading time uses the widely accepted average of 200 words per minute for adult silent reading, and speaking time uses 130 words per minute — the comfortable pace for presentations, podcasts and video scripts. The keyword density panel surfaces your five most repeated meaningful words (common stopwords like “the” and “and” are filtered out), which is a quick way to spot over-repetition before an editor does, or to sanity-check that an article actually emphasises the topic you want it to rank for.
Frequently asked questions
How are words counted, exactly?
Any run of characters separated by whitespace counts as one word, which matches how most word processors and publishing platforms count. Hyphenated words like “well-known” count as one word, and numbers count as words too. Character counts include punctuation; the “no spaces” figure strips spaces, tabs and line breaks.
Is my text uploaded or stored on a server?
No. Everything is computed in your browser as you type — your text never leaves your device. The draft is kept in your browser’s local storage purely so a refresh doesn’t wipe it, and the Clear button removes it completely.
How accurate are the reading and speaking time estimates?
Reading time assumes 200 words per minute, the standard average for adult silent reading of general text. Speaking time assumes 130 words per minute, a natural pace for presentations and voiceovers. Dense technical material reads slower, so treat both as solid ballpark figures rather than stopwatch guarantees.
Which platform limits does it check?
X posts (280 characters), Instagram captions (2,200), LinkedIn posts (3,000), SEO meta descriptions (~160 before Google truncates) and a single SMS segment (160). Each bar shows characters used against the limit and tells you exactly how many characters over you are.
Part of the Hextrot studio
Ready for the full version?
Counting words is the quick check — these tools do the next step: turn long text into clean X threads, or generate platform-ready captions in one click.
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