Word Counter & Reading-Time Calculator
Paste your text for instant word, character, sentence and paragraph counts — plus reading and speaking time. Everything runs in your browser; your text is never uploaded.
Open the free Word Counter →How it works
Paste or type into the box and the word counter updates live — no button to press, nothing to upload. It reports six numbers at once: words, characters (with spaces), characters without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, and estimated reading and speaking time.
Words are counted by splitting the text on every space, tab and line break and counting the non-empty chunks, so "co-founder", "don't" and "2025" each count as a single word — the same way most editors and platforms count. Sentences are detected by terminal punctuation (. ! ?) and paragraphs by blank-line breaks.
Reading time divides your word count by an average silent reading speed of 238 words per minute, the typical adult pace for non-technical English. Speaking time uses a slower 130 words per minute to match how fast people comfortably read aloud, which is handy for scripts, voiceovers and speeches.
Worked example
Say you paste a blog draft with 1,190 words across 7 paragraphs and 64 sentences. The counter shows:
- Words: 1,190
- Characters (with spaces): ~7,140 (roughly 6 characters per word)
- Characters without spaces: ~5,950
- Reading time: 1,190 ÷ 238 = 5 minutes
- Speaking time: 1,190 ÷ 130 ≈ 9 minutes read aloud
So that same article a reader skims in about 5 minutes would run roughly 9 minutes as a spoken video script — useful when you're trimming copy to hit a meta-description limit, a 280-character social cap, or a fixed-length voiceover.
Frequently asked questions
- How does the word counter count words?
- It splits your text on spaces, tabs and line breaks, then counts each run of non-space characters as one word. Numbers, hyphenated words like "co-founder" and contractions like "don't" each count as a single word. Counting updates instantly as you type or paste.
- How is reading time calculated?
- Reading time is the word count divided by an average silent reading speed of about 200–250 words per minute. We use 238 words per minute, the average for adults reading non-technical English, so a 1,000-word article works out to roughly 4 minutes. Speaking time uses a slower 130 words per minute to match natural spoken pace.
- What is the difference between characters with and without spaces?
- "Characters" counts every keystroke including spaces, punctuation and line breaks. "Characters without spaces" excludes spaces, tabs and newlines, which is the figure most platforms mean when they enforce a limit. The tool shows both so you can match whichever limit applies.
- Is my text uploaded or stored anywhere?
- No. The word counter runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your text never leaves your device, is never sent to a server and is not saved after you close the tab, so it is safe for confidential drafts and client work.
- How many words per minute should I use for a speech?
- For a presentation or speech read aloud, 120–150 words per minute is comfortable; 130 is a safe default. That means about 650 words for a 5-minute talk. The tool's speaking-time figure uses 130 wpm, but you can plan around a slower pace if you pause often or use slides.