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ToolNestora

Word Counter

Paste or type text and see the number of words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and lines straight away, along with estimated reading and speaking time and the words you repeat most. The counting happens in your browser as you type, so your text is not uploaded.

Count words in your text

Counts update as you type. Your text stays in this browser.

Results

Words
0
Characters
0
Characters without spaces
0
Sentences
0
Paragraphs
0
Lines
0
Reading time
0 sec
at 238 words per minute
Speaking time
0 sec
at 150 words per minute

Most repeated words

Skips words such as “the”, “and” and “of”.

Words that appear more than once will be listed here.

How to use it

  1. Add your text

    Type in the box or paste from another document. There is no need to press a button; the counts update as the text changes.

  2. Read the counts

    Words, characters (with and without spaces), sentences, paragraphs and lines appear under the box. Reading and speaking time are estimates based on the number of words.

  3. Check repeated words

    The list of most repeated words helps you spot overused terms. Turn off the common-words filter to include words such as “the” and “and”.

  4. Clear and start again

    Use Clear to empty the box and return the cursor to it.

Example: keeping an essay inside a word limit

An assignment allows 500 words, including the title but not the reference list. Paste the title and body, read the Words figure, and trim until it is under 500. Because every program draws the line between “words” slightly differently, leave yourself a small margin and confirm with the counter your institution uses if the limit is strict.

How each figure is counted

Different programs make different choices, so numbers can differ by a few from other tools. These are the rules used here.

Definitions used for each count
CountRule
WordsAny run of characters between spaces or line breaks that contains at least one letter or digit. “well-known” and “3.14” are one word each; a lone dash is not a word.
CharactersVisible characters as a person sees them. An accented letter, an emoji or a family emoji each counts once.
SentencesText ended by a full stop, question mark, exclamation mark, ellipsis or line break. Abbreviations such as “Mr.” can make the number slightly high.
ParagraphsBlocks of text separated by at least one blank line.
Reading timeWords divided by 238 words per minute, an average for silent reading of non-fiction.
Speaking timeWords divided by 150 words per minute, a typical pace for speech.

Limits and limitations

  • Languages written without spaces, such as Chinese and Japanese, are not split into words, so a whole run of text counts as one word. Use the character count for those languages.
  • Sentence counting is approximate. It does not know about abbreviations or quoted speech.
  • Reading and speaking times are averages. Real speed varies with the reader, the topic and how technical the text is.
  • Very long text (hundreds of thousands of words) can make typing feel slower while the counts catch up.
  • You can paste text but not open a file; copy the text out of the document first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my text uploaded?

No. Your text is processed by JavaScript running in your browser and is not sent to a server. The page itself still loads from a web server like any website. This site can load advertising or analytics scripts, but only after you accept them in the cookie notice. They are separate from the tools, which never pass the files or text you work with to them.

Why does another program show a different word count?

Programs disagree about hyphenated words, numbers, symbols and text without spaces. This tool counts whitespace-separated pieces that contain a letter or a digit, which matches what most word processors do for ordinary prose.

Do headings, footnotes or captions count?

Everything you paste is counted. If your limit excludes the title, references or footnotes, paste only the part that counts.

How is reading time worked out?

By dividing the word count by 238 words per minute. It is an estimate for silent reading of straightforward text, not a measurement of any particular reader.

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