Count words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and reading time in real time. Includes Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn character limits. Paste or type any text.
Our free word counter is trusted by students writing essays, bloggers checking article length, content marketers optimising posts, and social media managers working within platform character limits. Everything processes in your browser — your text is completely private.
Unlike the word count in Microsoft Word or Google Docs, our tool shows you multiple metrics simultaneously and updates in real time as you type or paste. You can also load a .txt file directly.
| Content Type | Recommended Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tweet / X post | 71–100 chars | Max 280 characters |
| Instagram caption | 138–150 chars visible | Max 2,200 characters |
| LinkedIn post | 1,200–1,500 chars | Max 3,000 characters |
| Meta description (SEO) | 150–160 characters | Google truncates beyond 160 |
| Blog post (SEO) | 1,500–2,500 words | Competitive topics need more depth |
| GCSE essay | 600–800 words | Varies by subject |
| A-Level essay | 800–1,500 words | Depends on subject and question |
| University essay | 1,500–4,000 words | ±10% tolerance typically allowed |
| Email newsletter | 200–300 words | Longer = higher unsubscribe rate |
| Press release | 300–500 words | Under 1 page preferred by journalists |
Our tool estimates reading time at 200 words per minute — the average adult silent reading speed for general content. Academic or technical content is typically read more slowly (150–180 WPM); casual reading can be faster (200–250 WPM). The estimate is rounded up to the nearest minute.
The "Unique Words" count shows how many distinct words appear in your text. This is useful for assessing vocabulary diversity. In academic writing, a high ratio of unique words to total words (above 50%) generally indicates more sophisticated, non-repetitive writing. Most SEO tools flag keyword stuffing if a single word appears too frequently.
Some academic institutions count characters without spaces rather than words. This is particularly common in language learning and translation — a 500-character piece in Spanish translates differently than 500 characters in Japanese. When in doubt about your institution's counting method, check your assignment brief.