Word Counter - Free Online Word & Character Count

It measures word count, character count, sentences, paragraphs, and estimated reading time.

A single-spaced 12pt Times New Roman page is usually about 500 words. Double-spaced is about 250 words.

Yes. It is free to use in the browser and does not require signup.

Word count measures separated words. Character count measures letters, numbers, punctuation, and sometimes spaces depending on the setting.

Paste your text and the counter shows the word total instantly — along with characters, sentences, paragraphs, and reading time. Updates as you type, so you can write directly in the box if you'd like. Useful for essays with word limits, blog posts with target lengths, or social media captions where word count matters. Copy the input back when you're done. The counter handles long documents fine, so feel free to paste an entire article in one go.

Paste your text into the counter and read the word total. No button to press — the count updates live. Works for short captions, paragraphs, or full-length articles. The counter splits text on whitespace, so "hello world" is two words and "hello-world" is one. If you've got hyphenated phrases that should count as multiple words, separate them manually first. Useful for word-limited assignments, character-restricted forms, and content marketing where target lengths matter.

Paragraphs vary widely. A standard paragraph in academic writing is 100 to 200 words. Web writing tends to use shorter paragraphs of 30 to 80 words for easier reading. Newspaper paragraphs are even shorter — sometimes just one or two sentences. The counter shows your exact paragraph word count when you paste a single paragraph. For multiple paragraphs, the total covers everything; reading-time calculation accounts for the full content rather than per-paragraph stats.

Paste your text and the counter displays both numbers side by side — words on one line, characters on another — along with characters without spaces. Live updating, no button to press. Useful when you need to fit specific word and character limits at the same time, like a meta description (160 characters) that should also be roughly 25 words. Copy your text back out when you're done editing the draft.

Single-spaced 12-point Times New Roman with standard 1-inch margins fits roughly 500 to 550 words per page. Switch to Calibri or Arial and the count drops slightly because those fonts are wider per character. Margins, line spacing, and font size all change the answer. Use the Words to Pages calculator on the site for an exact estimate based on your specific formatting — it asks for your spacing, font, and size and gives you a calibrated number.

Paste your essay into the counter. The total shows up immediately. Useful when you've got a strict word limit (most academic essays specify a range like 1500 to 2000 words). Watch the count as you edit so you don't have to keep deleting at the end. Some assignments count the title, references, or footnotes; some don't — check the brief, paste only the relevant sections, and the counter gives you the exact number you need.

Paste the text from your document, web page, or email into the counter. The word total updates immediately. The counter splits on whitespace so it handles plain text from any source. If your copy includes hidden formatting characters from a Word document or web page, those don't affect the word count — they get treated as whitespace or skipped. Useful for any quick "how long is this?" check before publishing, submitting, or sharing.