Count words
Words, characters, lines and paragraphs.
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Your text
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The counts
Paste some text and choose Count it.
What this tool is for
This counts the words, characters, lines and paragraphs in whatever you paste in. Most writing that gets handed to someone else has a limit attached to it, whether that is an essay, a personal statement, a listing description or a post that has to fit inside a set number of characters.
How to count words and characters
- Paste or type your text into the box.
- Read the counts, which update as you type.
- Keep editing until the number you care about fits.
Questions
Are spaces included in the character count?
Both figures are shown, with spaces and without, because different limits mean different things and the gap between them is large.
What counts as one word?
Anything separated by a space. A hyphenated pair counts once, and a number counts the same as a word.
Will this match the count in my word processor?
Very closely, though a program may differ by a word or two over how it treats headings, footnotes or captions. For a hard limit, leave yourself a little room.
Is my writing uploaded anywhere?
No. The counting happens in this browser tab, so unpublished work is not sent to anyone.
Related tools
- Count which words repeat — See the words used most often in a piece of writing.
- Check readability — Grade level and reading ease, as you type.
- Change capital letters — Switch text to capitals, lower case, or title case.
- Remove repeated lines — Keep one of each line and drop the repeats.