Word and Character Counter — Free Online Tool
Just paste or type your text into the box, and you'll instantly see how many words and characters you've used. No sign-up, no download, no waiting. It works right in your browser, completely free.
A lot of writers find themselves constantly switching between their document and a separate counter. That slows things down. With this tool, you can keep it open in a tab and check your count anytime. It updates in real time, so every keystroke is reflected immediately.
It's also surprisingly useful for things you might not expect. Email subject lines, for instance, perform better when they're under 60 characters. Meta descriptions for SEO should sit between 150 and 160 characters. Instagram captions cut off after 125 characters in the feed. This tool helps you hit those targets without guessing.
Students writing essays with strict word limits will find it handy too. Instead of relying on Microsoft Word or Google Docs (which aren't always open, or accurate for plain text), you can paste your draft here and get an instant count. It's also great for checking content you didn't write yourself — like if you want to verify the length of a client's copy before publishing it.
There's nothing complicated here. It's one of those tools that just works, and that's kind of the point. You shouldn't need a tutorial to count words.
Word & Character Counter
Real-time counting
2. Word and character counts update instantly as you type or paste.
Character with & without spaces
See both totals so you can match platform-specific limits accurately.
3. Sentence & paragraph count
Helpful for checking readability and structure at a glance.
4. Works on any device
Fully browser-based — no app or extension needed.
5. No account required
Open the page and start using it. Nothing to install or log into.
6. Reading time estimate
Get a rough idea of how long your content takes to read.
Frequently asked questions
Is this tool completely free?Yes, 100%. There's no premium version, no trial, and no hidden limit on how much text you can count. Use it as much as you want.
It shows you both — characters with spaces and characters without spaces. That way you can use whichever number is relevant to your platform or requirement.
Definitely. It's great for checking meta descriptions, title tags, and page copy length. Many SEO best practices revolve around hitting specific character targets, and this tool makes that easy.
No. Everything happens in your browser. Your text is never sent to a server or saved anywhere, so you can safely paste private or sensitive writing.
Yes. The tool is responsive and works well on phones and tablets. Just open it in your mobile browser and paste or type your text as usual.
Words are counted by separating text at spaces and punctuation. Characters include every individual letter, space, number, and symbol in your text. For most social platforms and SEO purposes, character count is what matters most.