ToolsDiary
Text tool

Word & Character Counter

Count words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and estimated reading time.

Free to use No sign-up Browser-based
Tool workspace

Use the tool

Privacy-conscious: this tool runs in your browser where practical, so your working input stays on your device unless the page explicitly says otherwise.

0Words
0Characters
0No spaces
0Sentences
0Paragraphs
0 minReading time
Continue your workflow

Useful tools that work naturally with Word & Character Counter.

View all tools →
Keyword Density Analyzer See repeated words and phrases in text without encouraging keyword stuffing. SEO Text Cleaner Remove extra spaces, blank lines, smart quotes and common copy-paste clutter. Text Text Case Converter Convert text to upper, lower, title, sentence or alternating case. Text Duplicate Line Remover Remove repeated lines while preserving the first occurrence and original order. Text
Learn the workflow

Word Count and Reading Time: How the Numbers Are Calculated

Understand why word counts can differ between tools, how reading-time estimates are produced, and which edge cases matter for real writing workflows.

Read guide →

What this tool does

Get instant counts for writing, captions, essays, descriptions and documentation. The tool reports characters with and without spaces, words, sentences, paragraphs and an estimated reading time.

Counts are useful when a platform has limits or when you are editing for clarity, but a shorter number is not automatically better. Use the statistics to support your writing goal rather than trimming important meaning just to reach an arbitrary count.

Useful for

  • Check social captions, descriptions and ad copy against length limits.
  • Estimate reading time for articles or documentation.
  • Measure how much a draft changed during editing.

How to use it

  1. Paste or type text into the editor.
  2. Review the live counts as you write.
  3. Use the reading-time estimate as a rough planning guide.
  4. Copy your final text when ready.

Worked examples

Basic count

InputPlan the move today.

Result4 words · 20 characters including spaces

Punctuation remains part of the character count while the visible words are counted separately.

Repeated whitespace

Inputone two\n\nthree

Result3 words

Repeated spaces and blank lines do not create extra words.

Edge cases and limitations

  • Sentence counts are estimates because abbreviations, initials and unusual punctuation can look like sentence endings.
  • Reading-time estimates are planning aids; technical material and non-native reading can take considerably longer.
  • Different publishing platforms can apply their own character-count rules, so verify a hard platform limit before publishing.

Practical tips

  • Character limits on third-party platforms can change, so verify critical limits on the platform itself.
  • Reading time varies by audience and subject complexity.
  • Sentence detection is approximate for abbreviations and unusual punctuation.
  • ToolsDiary does not store the text you enter.

Frequently asked questions

Are spaces included in the character count?

The tool shows both total characters and characters excluding spaces.

How is reading time estimated?

The estimate uses a typical adult reading speed and rounds up to a practical minute value.

Does formatting affect the word count?

Whitespace is normalized, so repeated spaces and line breaks do not create extra words.