Whether you are trimming a college essay to a strict limit, writing a meta description that must not be cut off in Google, or checking how long a speech will take, you need fast, reliable numbers. This free online word counter gives you words, characters (with and without spaces), sentences, paragraphs, lines, reading time and speaking time as you type — with nothing to install and no account to create.
What this word counter measures
Every figure on the page is calculated in your browser the moment the text changes. Here is exactly what each one means, so you can trust the numbers and compare them with other tools:
| Metric | How it is counted |
|---|---|
| Words | Groups of letters and digits. Contractions such as “don’t” and hyphenated words such as “well-known” count as one word. |
| Characters | Every character you typed, including spaces, punctuation and line breaks. A normal emoji counts as one character. |
| Characters (no spaces) | The same total with all spaces, tabs and line breaks removed — useful for some translation and publishing quotes. |
| Sentences | Text ending in a full stop, question mark, exclamation mark or their Asian equivalents. |
| Paragraphs | Blocks of text separated by at least one blank line. |
| Lines | Every line break starts a new line, even inside a paragraph. |
| Reading time | Words divided by 238 words per minute, a typical adult silent-reading speed. |
| Speaking time | Words divided by 150 words per minute, a comfortable speech pace. |
For Japanese, Chinese and Thai, where words are not separated by spaces, the counter uses your browser’s language rules to split the text into words, and it estimates reading time from the number of characters instead.
How to count words in a text, step by step
- Add your text. Type directly into the box, or press Paste to insert what is on your clipboard. Text from Word, Google Docs, emails and web pages all work.
- Read the live numbers. The cards under the box change as you edit, so you can delete a sentence and watch the total drop.
- Check the limit meters. Each bar turns amber when you pass 90% of a limit and red when you go over.
- Review the most used words. Words you repeat three or more letters long appear with how often they occur and their share of the whole text.
- Copy, send or clear. Use Copy to take the text with you, Open in notepad to keep writing in the TextAgo notepad, or Clear to start over.
Character limits worth knowing in 2027
Platforms cut off text that is too long, and the cut-off point is not always obvious. The meters in this tool use the commonly quoted limits below. They are a guide rather than a guarantee, because platforms change their rules and some count links, emoji or special characters differently.
| Where | Limit used | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| X / Twitter post | 280 | The standard limit for most accounts. Links are counted differently by the platform. |
| SMS | 160 | One standard text message. Longer messages are split and may be billed as several. |
| Meta title | 60 | Search results often truncate titles at roughly this length. |
| Meta description | 160 | A snippet that fits fully tends to read better in search results. |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 | The maximum caption length; only the first lines show before “more”. |
| LinkedIn post | 3,000 | The maximum for a standard post. |
If you write for search engines, use the 60- and 160-character meters while drafting titles and descriptions. Search engines may rewrite snippets anyway, but a tight, complete one gives you the best chance of showing as intended.
Who uses a character counter and a word count tool?
Students
Essays, scholarship applications and exam answers often come with a minimum or maximum word count. Pasting your draft here is faster than opening a word processor, and the reading-time figure helps you judge whether a presentation script fits its time slot.
Writers and bloggers
Long-form articles tend to perform best when they cover a topic thoroughly, but padding hurts readers. The paragraph and sentence counts show whether your writing is balanced, and the repeated-words list reveals habits such as using “really” or “very” too often.
Marketers and SEO specialists
Ad headlines, email subject lines, product titles and meta descriptions all have practical limits. Draft them here, watch the meters, and copy the final version.
Translators and freelancers
Many clients price per word or per thousand characters. Having both “with spaces” and “without spaces” totals saves arguments about quotes.
Speakers and teachers
At 150 words per minute, a 5-minute talk is about 750 words. The speaking-time card does that arithmetic for you.
Tips for better writing using the numbers
- Aim for short paragraphs. On phones, paragraphs of two to four sentences are easier to read. If your paragraph count is low for a long text, split some.
- Watch sentence length. Divide the word count by the sentence count. If the result is above roughly 25, your sentences may be hard to follow.
- Use the most-used words list as an edit prompt. If a non-essential word shows up many times, vary it or cut it.
- Write first, trim later. Draft freely, then use the meters to cut. Starting with a hard limit can slow you down.
- Re-check after formatting. Copying from a page layout can add stray line breaks; the lines card makes these visible.
Word counter vs. built-in counters in Word and Google Docs
Word processors have their own counters, and small differences are normal. The main causes are how hyphenated words, numbers with punctuation, and symbols are treated. If an assignment says “counted by Microsoft Word,” confirm in that program. For everything else — social posts, descriptions, drafts — this tool gives you the same answer without opening a heavy application, and it works on any phone or computer.
Privacy: what happens to your text
Counting happens entirely on your device. TextAgo does not receive your text. To save you from losing work, the tool keeps your latest text in your browser’s local storage so it is still there when you come back, and it is shared with a few other TextAgo text tools on the same device. Press Clear to remove it, or clear your browser data. See the Privacy Policy for details.
Troubleshooting
My count is different from another tool
Different tools treat hyphens, apostrophes, numbers and symbols differently. Compare small samples to see where they diverge, and use the tool that your publisher or school specifies when it matters.
Pasting from a PDF adds odd line breaks
PDFs often break lines at the edge of the page. The word count is still right, but the line count will be high. Use the Remove Duplicate Lines tool’s “Trim spaces” and “Remove empty lines” options if you want to tidy the text first.
The Paste button does nothing
Some browsers ask permission before letting a page read the clipboard. If you decline, press Ctrl+V (or Cmd+V on Mac) inside the text box instead.
Frequently asked questions about word and character counting
How many words is 1,000 characters?
In English, an average word is about five letters plus a space, so 1,000 characters is roughly 170 to 200 words. Paste real text here for an exact figure.
How long does it take to read 1,500 words?
At 238 words per minute, around six to seven minutes. The reading-time card calculates this automatically for any length.
Does the character count include spaces?
Both numbers are shown: “Characters” includes spaces and line breaks, “Characters (no spaces)” leaves them out.
Can I count words in Hindi, Arabic, Japanese or other languages?
Yes. The counter works with any language your browser can display, using Unicode-aware rules. For languages written without spaces, results are estimates based on your browser’s language data.
Is there a limit on how much text I can check?
There is no limit set by TextAgo. Very large documents, such as whole books, may feel slower on older phones because your own device does the work.
Is my writing saved or shared?
Your text is not sent to TextAgo. It is kept only in your browser so you do not lose it, and you can erase it at any time with the Clear button.