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Word Counter – Count Words and Characters Online

Paste or type your text to see words, characters, sentences and reading time instantly. Nothing you write leaves your browser.

Words
0
Characters
0
Characters (no spaces)
0
Sentences
0
Paragraphs
0
Reading time
0 sec
Speaking time
0 sec

Your text stays in this browser tab. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

Character limits

X (Twitter) post0 / 280
Google title0 / 60
Meta description0 / 160
SMS message0 / 160
Instagram caption0 / 2,200

Most used words

Repeated words will appear here as you write.

How to count words

  1. Type or paste your text into the box above. You can paste from Word, Google Docs, email or any web page.
  2. Read the counts at the top. They update as you type: words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, and reading and speaking time.
  3. Check the limits to see whether your text fits an X post, a Google title, a meta description, an SMS or an Instagram caption.
  4. Review your most used words to catch repetition before you submit.

Features

  • Live word and character count that keeps up even with very long documents.
  • Characters with and without spaces, sentences and paragraphs.
  • Reading and speaking time for blog posts, scripts and speeches.
  • Character limit bars for X, Google search results, SMS and Instagram, which turn red when you go over.
  • Keyword frequency showing the words you use most and their share of the text.
  • Works in any language, including right-to-left scripts like Urdu and Arabic, and in scripts without spaces.
  • Copy and clear buttons, and it works just as well on a phone.

Why use Fileora's word counter

Word limits are everywhere: college essays, job applications, scholarship forms, product descriptions and social media posts. A word counter should give you the number instantly and then get out of the way. Fileora counts as you type, with no ads between you and the result and no button to press.

It's also private. Many writing tools save what you paste on their servers. Here your text never leaves the browser tab, which matters when you're checking a cover letter, a legal statement or an unpublished article.

Once your text is ready, you might want to turn it into something shareable. Style your bio with the Instagram font generator, create a WhatsApp link with a pre-filled message, or check that your data is valid with the JSON formatter.

Word counts people often need

A tweet or X post allows 280 characters. Common essay limits are 250, 500, 650 (the US Common App) and 1,000 words. A meta description should stay around 150–160 characters so Google doesn't cut it off, and a page title around 50–60. A typical double-spaced page holds roughly 250–300 words, and a single-spaced page about 500. For speeches, 150 words is about one minute of speaking, so a five-minute talk needs around 750 words.

Frequently asked questions

How does the word counter count words?

It uses your browser's built-in language rules to find word boundaries, the same approach used by modern text editors. Contractions like "don't" and numbers such as 3.5 count as one word, while hyphenated words such as "well-known" count as two, because the browser splits at the hyphen (Microsoft Word counts them as one). Languages such as Urdu, Hindi, Arabic and Chinese are counted correctly too.

Are spaces counted as characters?

The tool shows both. "Characters" includes spaces and line breaks, which is what most social media limits use. "Characters (no spaces)" is what some universities, translators and publishers ask for.

How is reading time calculated?

Reading time is based on an average silent reading speed of about 238 words per minute, and speaking time on about 150 words per minute, a comfortable pace for presentations and speeches. Treat both as estimates: technical text is slower to read, casual text faster.

Is my text saved or uploaded?

No. Your text stays in the browser tab while you work and disappears when you close it. It is never sent to our servers, so you can safely check drafts, private messages or client documents.

What are the character limits for social media?

The tool tracks the most common ones: 280 characters for an X (Twitter) post, about 60 characters for a Google search title, about 160 for a meta description or a standard SMS, and 2,200 for an Instagram caption. A bar fills up as you type and turns red when you go over.

What does "most used words" show?

It lists the words you repeat most often, ignoring very common words like "the" and "and". It's useful for spotting words you overuse in an essay, or checking that a web page mentions its main topic often enough without keyword stuffing.

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