Keyword Counter
Count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs as you type, with reading and speaking times for the text you have — counted live, in your browser.
What this tool does
Paste any text and the counts update as you type: words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, and an estimate of how long the piece takes to read silently or to deliver out loud. Nothing is submitted anywhere — the counting happens in the page.
Two limitations are worth knowing before you quote a number. Words are counted by splitting on whitespace, so state-of-the-art counts as one word and well known as two, which is why your word processor may disagree by a few. Sentences are counted by looking for full stops, question marks and exclamation marks, so an abbreviation like e.g. or Dr. adds one that is not really there.
How to use it
- Paste your text into the box, or start typing. Every figure updates on the spot — there is nothing to run.
- Read the four headline numbers first: words, characters, sentences and paragraphs. They are the ones people actually ask you for.
- Use the reading and speaking times when the length matters to someone else — a script has to fit a slot, and a blog post has to be worth the scroll.
- Check the notes underneath. They flag long sentences, missing paragraph breaks and other things the raw numbers hide.
Common use cases
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Fitting a word limit
A client asks for 800 words, an essay has a 1,500-word ceiling, or a scholarship form caps you at 500 characters. Paste the draft and watch the number instead of counting by hand.
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Timing a script
A five-minute talk is roughly 650 spoken words. Paste the script and the speaking time tells you whether you are writing for the slot you have or for one you do not.
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Writing meta descriptions
Descriptions are cut by pixel width rather than character count, but the character figure is a fast sanity check while you draft — the note below the counts tells you when you have gone well past it.
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Editing your own draft
Average sentence length is a blunt but useful signal. If yours sits above about 25 words, the notes say so, and that is usually where a paragraph has stopped being readable.
Frequently asked questions
How is the reading time calculated?
Words divided by 225 per minute, the usual average for silent reading of non-fiction. Speaking time uses 130 per minute, which is closer to a presentation pace. Both are averages: a passage full of numbers, names or unfamiliar terms takes longer, and a familiar one takes less. Treat the figure as a planning aid rather than a promise.
Why does my word count differ from my word processor's?
Tools split words differently. This counter splits on whitespace, so state-of-the-art counts as one word and well known counts as two, and Word and Google Docs apply their own hyphen and apostrophe rules on top of that. A difference of a few words on a long document is normal. A difference of hundreds usually means something is being counted by one tool and not the other — footnotes, text boxes, headers, or text left in tracked changes.
Does it work with non-English text?
For any language written with spaces between words, yes. Chinese, Japanese and Thai do not separate words with spaces, so the word count will be far too low and the character count is the figure to use instead. Sentences are counted by looking for full stops, question marks and exclamation marks, so abbreviations like e.g. and Dr. will each add a sentence that is not really there.