Word Counter

How to use the word counter

1. Paste your text into the box, or start typing. Every number updates as you write, and your text is saved in this browser so it survives a refresh.
2. Read the headline counts at the top: words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, reading time and speaking time.
3. Select part of the text to count only that part, which is handy for checking one section of a brief or a single answer on a form.
4. Check the readability score, the keyword table and the character limits, then use the long-sentence highlighter to find what to trim.
5. Use the text tools to fix capitals or messy spacing. Undo reverses the last change, and Copy stats gives you a summary to paste into an email or invoice.

How words and characters are counted

A word is any run of letters or digits, found with your browser's built-in Unicode word rules where available. The edge cases follow what most editors do:

• Hyphenated words such as self-employed or COVID-19 count as one word. Words joined by an em dash or a slash count separately.
• Contractions and possessives such as don't and client's are one word, with straight or curly apostrophes.
• Numbers count as words, and 1,000, 3.14, 10:30 and 24/7 each count once. Currency symbols and percent signs are ignored.
• Web and email addresses count as one word each.
• Chinese and Japanese text has no spaces between words, so each character counts as one word. Korean, which uses spaces, is counted normally.
• Characters are what you see: an emoji or an accented letter counts as one. "With spaces" includes spaces and line breaks; "no spaces" leaves out all whitespace.
• Sentences end at a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark followed by a space, but not after common abbreviations (Mr., e.g., U.S.) or inside decimals. A blank line also ends a sentence, so headings and list items without punctuation count.
• Paragraphs are lines that contain at least one word.

How long is 500, 1,000 or 2,000 words?

Page counts assume a 12-point font with one-inch margins, a common rule of thumb of about 500 words per single-spaced page and 250 double-spaced. Reading time uses 238 words per minute and speaking time 140.

Real pages vary with font, headings and images, so treat page counts as rough. If a client asks for "about five pages", confirm the word count instead.

Ideal lengths for common freelance writing

These are common guidelines, not rules. The right length is whatever fully answers the reader and no more.

• Meta title: roughly 50 to 60 characters, with the main keyword near the start. Longer titles tend to be cut off in search results.
• Meta description: roughly 120 to 160 characters. Search engines may rewrite it, so put the useful part first.
• Blog posts: it depends on the question. A quick answer can be 300 to 600 words; a how-to guide is often 1,000 to 2,000. Look at what already ranks and aim to be more useful, not longer.
• Cold pitch emails: short enough to read on a phone without scrolling, often under 150 words, with one clear ask.
• Client updates: lead with any decision you need, keep the rest to a few short paragraphs.
• Social posts: X allows 280 characters, Instagram captions 2,200 and LinkedIn posts 3,000, but only the first line or two show before readers tap "more", so make the opening count.
• SMS: 160 characters per message, or 70 if you use emoji or non-Latin characters. Longer texts are split into joined parts.

Readability scores explained

Both scores come from the same two measurements: average sentence length (words ÷ sentences) and average word length in syllables (syllables ÷ words).

Flesch Reading Ease = 206.835 − 1.015 × (words ÷ sentences) − 84.6 × (syllables ÷ words)
Flesch–Kincaid Grade = 0.39 × (words ÷ sentences) + 11.8 × (syllables ÷ words) − 15.59

Worked example: a 120-word client email with 8 sentences and 168 syllables averages 15 words per sentence and 1.4 syllables per word. Reading Ease = 206.835 − 15.225 − 118.44 = 73.2, which is "fairly easy". Grade Level = 5.85 + 16.52 − 15.59 = 6.8, about a 7th-grade reading level.

Reading Ease runs from about 0 (very hard) to 100 (very easy). 60 to 70 is plain English; below 30 is the territory of legal contracts and academic papers. The grade level is a US school grade, so 8 means an average 13- to 14-year-old could follow it. Syllables are estimated by rules rather than a dictionary, which is why the scores are marked approximate, and they are shown only for English.

A formula can't tell whether your writing makes sense. A short, simple sentence can still be vague. Use the score to spot dense passages, then read them aloud.

Writing tips for freelancers writing for clients

• Agree what counts. If you charge per word, state in the quote whether headings, captions, footnotes and references are included, and whose word count is final.
• Write to a range. A brief that says "1,500 words" usually means 1,400 to 1,600. Ask before going far over; extra words can mean extra editing time for the client.
• Cut long sentences first. Highlight sentences over 25 words and split the ones with two ideas. It is the fastest way to raise a readability score.
• Set a target per client. Consumer brands often want grade 6 to 8; technical or B2B readers will accept more. Note it in your style sheet for that client.
• Don't chase keyword density. Cover the topic well, use the phrase people search for in the title and opening, and check the table only to catch accidental repetition.
• Check the final version. Count the text you deliver, not a draft full of comments and notes.

Frequently asked questions