PDFConvertersOnline.comHow to count words in your text
- Type in the box, paste your text, or open a .txt file.
- Watch the counts update as you write. Enter a word limit to see how many words you have left.
- Check the top keywords and longest sentence to tighten your writing.
Stay inside the limit
Essays, college application statements, grant proposals, abstracts, cover letters, magazine pitches: most writing that gets submitted somewhere comes with a word count attached. Type the limit into the Word limit box and a bar fills up as you write, turning orange near the end and red once you go over, with the exact number of words left or over. It's quicker than repeatedly opening a word processor's statistics window, and it works on a phone as well as a laptop.
Everything is counted in the page itself. Your draft isn't uploaded, saved or logged, which matters when the text is an unpublished manuscript or a confidential report.
What gets counted, and how
| Count | Rule |
|---|---|
| Words | Runs of letters or digits. don't and 3.5 are one word each; hyphenated compounds like long-term count as two. |
| Sentences | Split at sentence-ending punctuation (. ! ? and their Chinese and Japanese forms) using the browser's built-in text rules. |
| Paragraphs | Lines that contain text; blank lines are ignored. |
| Lines | Every line, including empty ones. |
| Average word length | Characters per word. |
Word processors don't all agree on these rules. Some count long-term or e-mail as one word, for example, so small differences of a few words against another program are normal. When a limit is strict, check with the tool your school or publisher uses.
Word counting also works beyond English. Chinese and Japanese don't put spaces between words, so a simple space-based counter gets them badly wrong. This tool uses the browser's built-in word segmentation, which splits those languages into words using a dictionary. Many Chinese-language assignments are measured in characters rather than words, though; for those, use the Character Counter.
Reading and speaking time
Reading time assumes 238 words per minute, the average silent reading speed for non-fiction found in a large 2019 review of reading-rate studies. Speaking time uses 150 words per minute, a comfortable pace for a talk or presentation. So a 1,000-word blog post takes a little over four minutes to read, and a five-minute speech needs roughly 750 words. Treat both as estimates: technical material reads slower, and nervous speakers talk faster.
Keywords and sentence length
The keyword list shows the ten words you use most, leaving out common filler words (the, and, of, with…), with each word's count and its share of all words. Use it to spot a term you lean on too heavily or to confirm that a page is really about its topic. The longest sentence is shown too, with its length in words. If it runs past 35 or 40 words, readers will probably thank you for splitting it.
Need a strong password for the account you're submitting through? The Password Generator runs in your browser too.
More ways to use this tool
Frequently asked questions
Is my text saved or sent anywhere?
No. The counting happens in your browser as you type. The text isn't uploaded or stored, and it's gone when you close the page.
Why is my count different from Microsoft Word or Google Docs?
Programs treat hyphenated words, numbers and symbols slightly differently. This counter splits hyphenated compounds into separate words, so expect small differences.
Does it count words in Chinese, Japanese or Thai?
Yes. It uses your browser's word segmentation, which recognizes words in languages written without spaces.
How is reading time calculated?
Word count divided by 238 words per minute. Speaking time uses 150 words per minute.
Can I open a document file?
You can open plain .txt or .md files with the Open .txt button, or drop them on the text box. For Word or Google Docs, copy the text and paste it in.