Word counter

What this counter measures

The number in the panel is a live word count using the same rule most editors and word processors apply: a word is any unbroken run of letters, numbers or both, with hyphens and apostrophes kept inside the word. So state-of-the-art counts as one word, and don't counts as one word. Numerals count too, which is why 2026 is a word.

Alongside it you get the measurements that usually matter next: characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, reading time, speaking time, and how many manuscript pages the text fills.

Why word counts differ between tools

If this number is a few words off from Microsoft Word or Google Docs, the cause is almost always one of four things, and none of them is a bug.

• Hyphenated compounds. Some tools split well-known into two words. We keep it as one, matching Word.
• Numbers and dates. A few counters skip pure numerals. We count them, because a marker reading your essay would.
• Headers, footnotes and captions. Word counts these depending on your settings; a paste into this box counts only what you pasted.
• Citations and reference lists. Most institutions exclude them. Paste only the body text if your limit excludes references.

Writing to a word limit

A stated limit is usually a range in disguise. Most academic and editorial limits tolerate a margin of about ten per cent either way unless the brief says otherwise, and the safest target is just under the ceiling rather than exactly on it.

• Academic essays: aim for 95–100 % of the limit. Under-length reads as under-researched.
• Journalism and blogging: the brief's number is a guide; the subject decides the real length.
• Applications and personal statements: treat the limit as absolute. Forms often truncate silently.
• Speeches: count in minutes, not words. Use the speaking time figure and rehearse aloud.

Counters tuned to a particular kind of writing live in writing tools, and every platform character limit is collected under social limits.

Reading time, and why the number here is lower than you expect

Reading speed is measured, not guessed. The widely cited figure of roughly 238 words per minute for silent reading of non-fiction comes from a large meta-analysis of reading studies, and it is meaningfully slower than the 300 words per minute some tools assume. We use the conservative figure, so a post that reads as an eight-minute read here will not surprise anyone.

Speaking is slower again. A comfortable, audience-friendly delivery pace is about 140 words per minute: roughly 40 % slower than reading. That gap is why a script that looks short on the page runs long at the lectern.

Common questions