Tool
Word & Character Counter
Live counts of words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, plus reading time and speaking time — useful for blog posts, essays, scripts, and social media drafts. Updates as you type.
Frequently asked questions
How is reading time calculated?
This tool uses 230 words per minute, the average adult silent reading speed reported across published studies. For technical content (heavy with code or jargon), real reading time is often 150-180 words per minute. For lighter prose, fast readers can hit 300+ wpm. Use this number as a guideline, not an exact answer.
Why does the sentence count look slightly off sometimes?
Sentence detection splits on periods, question marks, and exclamation points followed by whitespace or end-of-text. This handles most prose correctly but can miscount abbreviations like "Dr.", initials, and ellipses. For exact sentence counts in formal documents, a manual review of the count is recommended.
Is what I paste saved or sent anywhere?
No. The counter runs entirely in your browser using client-side JavaScript. Nothing is uploaded, stored, or sent to any server. You can verify this by opening browser dev tools, going to the Network tab, and watching that no requests are sent while you type.
What is a good word count for a blog post?
For SEO-focused posts in 2026, 1,200-2,000 words is the working range for most niches. Comparison and pillar pages often hit 2,500-3,500 words. For AI search citations (AEO), tighter posts of 800-1,500 words with clear question-format headers tend to outperform long flowing essays. The right length depends on the topic, not a generic target.
How long should a speech or video script be?
At a conversational pace of 130 words per minute, a 10-minute video script is roughly 1,300 words. A 60-second ad is 130-150 words. A keynote-style talk runs slower — 100-120 wpm — so account for pauses and emphasis. This tool shows speaking time alongside reading time to make this easy to plan.