How the counts work
A word is anything your browser's language tools see as a word, so “don't” counts as one word and “2026” counts as one too. Punctuation and emoji on their own don't count as words.
Characters are counted the way you see them. An emoji, a flag or an accented letter is one character, even though some of them are several code points underneath. You get the count with spaces and without, since some forms and assignments ask for one and some for the other.
Sentences end at a period, question mark or exclamation mark. Paragraphs are blocks of text separated by a blank line.
Reading and speaking time
Reading time assumes 238 words a minute, the average for adults reading silently in English. Speaking time assumes 150 words a minute, a steady pace for a talk, video or podcast.
Use speaking time to check a script before you record. If a 60-second video script comes out at 90 seconds, cut it before you hit record, not after.
Common word count targets
Rough lengths that tend to work well:
- Tweet or Threads post: 20 to 50 words
- Instagram caption: 50 to 150 words for most posts
- Email newsletter: 200 to 500 words
- Blog post: 1,000 to 2,000 words for a full how-to
- College essay: often 650 words max (Common App)
- Speech: about 750 words for five minutes
Using keyword density
The keyword list shows the words you use most, with common words like “the” and “and” left out. Density is how often a word appears out of every 100 words.
There's no magic density for search engines. If your main topic sits around 1% to 2%, you're likely fine. If one word is far above that, the text probably reads as repetitive, so swap a few for a synonym or a pronoun.
Tips for tighter writing
Look at words per sentence. An average of 15 to 20 reads easily on a screen. If yours is above 25, split a few long sentences in two. The longest sentence box shows the first one to fix.
Cut filler words like “really”, “just” and “very”, and trade long phrases for short ones: “because” instead of “due to the fact that”. Then read the whole thing out loud. Anywhere you stumble or run out of breath is a sentence worth rewriting.
Frequently asked questions
Does the word counter save my text?
No. Everything runs in your browser. Your text isn't sent anywhere or stored, and it's gone when you close the page.
Are hyphenated words one word or two?
Two here, because the hyphen splits it. Microsoft Word counts “well-known” as one, which is one reason counts differ a little between apps. Contractions like “it's” count as one.
How many pages is 1,000 words?
About two pages single-spaced or four pages double-spaced, in a 12-point font with normal margins.
Why is my count different from Google Docs or Word?
Each app splits words a little differently around dashes, slashes, numbers and links. Expect a difference of a few words in a long piece, not more.
How long does it take to read 500 words?
About 2 minutes at an average reading pace, and about 3 minutes and 20 seconds to say out loud.