Text Counter
The Text Counter is a free online tool that provides detailed statistics about your text in real time. Paste or type any text to instantly see word count, character count, sentence count, paragraph count, and estimated reading time.
Beyond basic counts, the tool analyzes text density metrics like average word length and average sentence length, and highlights your top 5 most frequently used words (excluding common stop words). Perfect for writers, students, content creators, and SEO professionals who need to meet specific length requirements or analyze their writing style.
How it works
Word count is calculated by splitting text on whitespace. Sentences are detected by counting period, exclamation, and question mark sequences. Reading time is estimated at 200 words per minute. Stop words (common function words) are excluded from the top words analysis.
Use cases
- Meeting essay or article word count requirements for school or publication
- Checking social media post length limits (Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram)
- Analyzing writing style by examining average word and sentence lengths
- SEO content optimization — ensuring articles meet minimum length guidelines
- Estimating presentation or speech duration from written scripts
Frequently asked questions
How do I count the number of words in a text?
Paste or type your text into the tool and the word count updates instantly. Words are counted by splitting the text on whitespace, so any run of spaces, tabs, or line breaks separates one word from the next. The count appears alongside character, sentence, and paragraph totals.
How is reading time estimated?
Reading time is calculated by dividing the total word count by an average reading speed of 200 words per minute. For example, a 1,000-word article yields about a 5-minute read. This is a common benchmark for silent adult reading, though individual speeds vary.
Does the character count include spaces?
The tool reports the total character count, which includes spaces and punctuation. This matters for platforms with strict limits, such as X (Twitter) at 280 characters, SMS at 160 characters, or meta descriptions around 155 to 160 characters.
What are stop words in the top words analysis?
Stop words are common function words such as 'the', 'a', 'and', and 'of' that carry little topical meaning. The tool excludes them so the top 5 most frequent words reflect the actual subject matter of your text rather than filler. This makes the frequency analysis more useful for SEO and content review.
How are sentences and paragraphs counted?
Sentences are detected by counting sequences of periods, exclamation marks, and question marks, while paragraphs are separated by line breaks. Because abbreviations and decimal points also contain periods, the sentence count is a close estimate rather than a grammatically perfect total.