Word Counter — Free Online Word and Character Count
Live word, character and sentence counts with reading time and platform limits.
🔒 Runs in your browser — files never uploaded ⚡ No signup 💯 Free
Platform limits — how your text measures up
Keyword density (top 10)
Counts update as you type — words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs and lines. You also get reading and speaking time, a readability grade, and a live check against the character limits for Google, X, Instagram, LinkedIn and more.
How to use Word Counter
- Type or paste your text. Every count updates instantly.
- Open “Platform limits” to see how your text measures against common caps.
- Open “Keyword density” to see your most-used terms, with common stop words filtered out.
Reading and speaking time
Reading time assumes 238 words per minute, the average for silent reading of ordinary prose established by meta-analysis of reading studies. Speaking time uses 140 wpm, a comfortable presentation pace. Technical material runs slower on both counts.
The readability grade
We use the Flesch–Kincaid grade level, which combines average sentence length with average syllables per word. A grade of 8 means a typical 13-to-14-year-old could follow it. Most general-audience writing should aim for grade 8 to 12; below 6 can read as simplistic, above 14 starts excluding readers. It measures sentence and word complexity only — it cannot judge whether your argument makes sense.
Keyword density
Density is a term's share of total words. There is no magic target: writing naturally usually lands important terms between 0.5% and 2.5% without effort. Deliberately pushing a keyword higher reads badly to humans and has been actively penalised by search engines for well over a decade.
Frequently asked questions
Does this count words the same way as Microsoft Word?
Very closely. Both split on whitespace and count hyphenated words as one. Small differences can appear with unusual punctuation or symbols, but for ordinary prose the totals match.
Is my text saved or sent anywhere?
No. Everything is counted in your browser as you type. Nothing is transmitted or stored, so this is safe for drafts, coursework and confidential documents.
How is reading time calculated?
At 238 words per minute for silent reading and 140 for speaking aloud. Both are established averages for ordinary prose — technical material runs slower.
What is a good keyword density?
There is no target worth chasing. Writing naturally usually lands important terms between 0.5% and 2.5%. Deliberately pushing higher reads badly and has been penalised by search engines for over a decade.