Word & Character Counter
Type or paste text to see live counts. Useful for essays, meta descriptions, tweets and anything with a length limit.
Length limits
Top keywords
| Word | Count | Density |
|---|
How words are counted
A word here is any run of characters separated by whitespace, which matches how word processors and most editors count. Hyphenated compounds such as state-of-the-art count as one word; an em dash between words does not join them. Numbers and standalone symbols count as words when they are surrounded by spaces.
Reading and speaking time
Reading time assumes 238 words per minute, the average for adult silent reading of general non-fiction. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute, a comfortable presentation pace. Both are estimates — technical material reads slower, and a rehearsed speaker may run faster.
Common length limits
| Where | Limit |
|---|---|
| Google title tag | ~60 characters before truncation |
| Google meta description | ~155 characters |
| X / Twitter post | 280 characters |
| SMS (single message) | 160 characters |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 characters |
| LinkedIn post | 3,000 characters |
| Common essay assignment | 500–2,000 words |
Keyword density
Density is a keyword's share of total words. There is no magic number that ranks a page — modern search engines evaluate meaning, not repetition — but the table is a useful sanity check. If one term sits far above the rest, the text probably reads as repetitive to a human too.
Frequently asked questions
How many pages is 1,000 words?
About four pages double-spaced or two pages single-spaced in 12 pt Times New Roman with one-inch margins.
How long does it take to read 1,000 words?
Roughly four minutes of silent reading, or about eight minutes read aloud at a presentation pace.
Are spaces counted as characters?
Both figures are shown. The "characters" tile includes spaces by default; tick the checkbox to exclude them, which is the number most social platforms and form limits use.
Does it count emoji correctly?
Yes. Counting iterates over Unicode code points rather than UTF-16 units, so an emoji or a Chinese character counts as one character instead of two.
Is my text sent anywhere?
No. Everything is counted by JavaScript in your browser, so drafts and confidential documents stay on your machine.