# Word and character counter

URL: https://shahid09.is-a.dev/tools/word-counter/
Author: Muhammad Shahid (https://shahid09.is-a.dev/)
Free tool · runs in your browser

Paste or type any text to count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs, and see how long it takes to read or say.

**Quick answer:** Type or paste your text and the counts update as you type: words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, and reading time. Words are found with your browser's language-aware word splitter, so Chinese, Hebrew and other scripts are counted properly, and an emoji counts as one character.

## How to use it

1. **Paste your text.** An essay, a post, a product description or a message.
2. **Read the counts.** Words, characters, characters without spaces, sentences and paragraphs update as you type.
3. **Check the limits.** Compare the counts with the limit you need to meet, such as an essay length or a meta description.

## Example

Two short paragraphs:

Input:

```
Hello world. This is a test!

Second paragraph here.
```

Output:

```
Words: 9
Characters: 52
Characters without spaces: 43
Sentences: 3
Paragraphs: 2
Reading time: 3 sec
Speaking time: 4 sec
```

## Common errors and how to fix them

- **The count differs from Word or Google Docs**: Tools treat hyphenated words, numbers like 1,000 and URLs differently. Use the tool your teacher or client uses for the final check.
- **The text is over the limit on X or in an SMS**: X counts links as 23 characters and some emoji as 2. An SMS holds 160 basic characters, but only 70 once it contains an emoji or a non-Latin script.
- **An emoji counts as 2 in my code**: JavaScript's .length counts UTF-16 units, so many emoji count as 2. Count graphemes with Intl.Segmenter, as this tool does.
- **Chinese or Japanese text shows few words**: These languages have no spaces, so words are found by a dictionary-based splitter. Many limits for these languages count characters instead; use the Characters figure.

## Frequently asked questions

### How are words counted?

Words are split by your browser's language-aware segmenter, which handles spaces, punctuation and languages written without spaces, such as Chinese.

### Do numbers count as words?

Yes. A number such as 2026 counts as one word, as it does in most word processors.

### Are spaces counted as characters?

The Characters count includes spaces; Characters without spaces leaves them out. Many forms count spaces, so check which one your limit means.

### How many words is a page?

About 500 words single-spaced or 250 double-spaced, with a 12-point font and normal margins.

### How is reading time calculated?

At 238 words a minute, the average silent reading speed for adults. Speaking time uses 140 words a minute.

### How long should a meta description be?

Aim for about 150 to 160 characters; Google shortens longer ones in search results.

### What is the character limit on X (Twitter)?

280 characters for standard accounts. Links count as 23 characters and some emoji count as 2.

### How many characters fit in one SMS?

160 with basic Latin characters. With emoji or other scripts such as Hebrew or Chinese, it drops to 70.

### Why does my count differ from Microsoft Word?

Tools treat hyphenated words, numbers with separators, URLs and symbols differently. The difference is usually small.

### Is my text saved or uploaded?

No. Counting happens in your browser and nothing is stored or sent.

## Related

- [Case converter](https://shahid09.is-a.dev/tools/case-converter/)
- [LLM token counter](https://shahid09.is-a.dev/tools/llm-token-counter/)
- [AI prompt generator](https://shahid09.is-a.dev/tools/ai-prompt-generator/)