Word Counter
Count words, sentences, and paragraphs in your text. Get reading time estimates and text statistics instantly.
How to Use This Tool
- Paste or type your text into the text box.
- View instant counts for words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs in the result boxes.
- Check the estimated reading time and speaking time based on your current word count.
- Refer to the "Chars (no spaces)" figure if you need a stricter character count for a form or limit.
Formula & How It Works
Word count
words = text.trim().split(/\s+/).lengthThe text is trimmed of leading/trailing whitespace, then split into tokens wherever one or more whitespace characters occur, and the resulting tokens are counted as words.
Sentence count
sentences = (text.match(/[.!?]+/g) || []).lengthSentences are detected by counting groups of sentence-ending punctuation — periods, exclamation marks, and question marks — treating consecutive punctuation (like "?!") as one ending.
Paragraph count
paragraphs = text.trim().split(/\n\s*\n/).filter(p => p.trim()).lengthThe text is split wherever there is a blank line (a line break followed by another line break, ignoring extra whitespace), and empty resulting chunks are discarded.
Reading time
readingTime = words / 200 minutesReading time is estimated by dividing the word count by 200 words per minute, the average adult silent-reading speed, then rounded up to the nearest minute.
Speaking time
speakingTime = words / 130 minutesSpeaking time is estimated by dividing the word count by 130 words per minute, a typical conversational speech pace, then rounded up to the nearest minute.
Practical Examples & Common Use Cases
Example: Blog post draft
A 1,200-word blog post has a reading time of about 6 minutes at 200 words per minute, and a speaking time of about 9 minutes if read aloud as a script or podcast segment.
Example: College essay word count
An essay with a 500-word minimum requirement can be checked instantly — paste your draft in and watch the word count climb past 500 as you write, without needing to switch to a separate word processor.
Example: Short story with multiple paragraphs
A short story with 8 paragraphs, 42 sentences, and 950 words gives a quick sense of pacing: roughly 5 sentences per paragraph and about 23 words per sentence on average.
Frequently Asked Questions
A word is defined as any sequence of characters separated by whitespace (spaces, tabs, line breaks). This matches the counting method used by most word processors.
Reading time is estimated at 200 words per minute, which is the average adult reading speed. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute, a typical conversational pace.
No. All processing happens entirely in your browser. Your text is never sent to any server or stored anywhere.
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