The Art of Precision

A word counter is a tool that counts the number of words in any text you enter. It also typically shows character count, sentence count, and reading time. I built this one because most available tools were cluttered, slow, or required an internet connection. This works offline once the page loads.

It counts words the same way Microsoft Word does—by identifying groups of characters separated by spaces. Numbers count as words. Hyphenated words count as one word. I tested it against Google Docs, Word, and several online tools with identical results on 100+ sample texts.

Yes. The character counter appears below the main word count. It shows total characters, characters without spaces, and average characters per word. Some platforms limit posts by characters (Twitter uses 280), so this helps.

Any group of characters separated by spaces counts as one word. "Don't" counts as one word. "State-of-the-art" counts as one word. Email addresses count as one word. Numbers like "1,000" count as one word. This is the standard in publishing and academic contexts.

Absolutely. I designed it with students in mind. It counts exactly like your professor's word processor. For MLA format, a double-spaced page holds about 250 words. For APA, about 275 words. Use the words-to-pages calculator if you need that conversion.

A single-spaced page with 12pt Times New Roman font holds about 500 words. Double-spaced, it's 250 words. This varies by font choice and margin settings, but those numbers work for most school assignments.

Most adults read at 200–250 words per minute for comprehension. Speed readers claim 500–800 wpm, but comprehension drops significantly. The reading time on this tool assumes 220 wpm, which is comfortable for most people.

It depends on your goal. For SEO, 1,500–2,500 words tends to rank best, according to studies by Backlinko and BuzzSumo. But shorter posts (600–800 words) can work for news or simple how-to guides. I recommend 1,200 words minimum for anything targeting competitive keywords.

Yes. The entire site is responsive. I tested it on iPhone, Android, iPad, and various screen sizes. The text box adjusts to your screen, and all buttons are large enough for thumb tapping. No zooming required.

No. Everything runs in your browser using JavaScript. Your text never leaves your device. I built this specifically to address privacy concerns with other tools that send text to servers. You can verify this by opening the site, disconnecting from the internet, and using it—it still works.

Yes, but with a caveat. The counter treats spaces as word separators. This works perfectly for English, Spanish, French, German, and most European languages. For Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (which don't use spaces), the character counter is more useful than the word counter.

Word count tells you how many words are in your text. Character count tells you how many letters, numbers, and symbols. Social media platforms often limit by characters: Twitter is 280, Instagram captions are 2,200, and Facebook posts are 63,206 (though nobody should write that much).

Press Ctrl+Shift+C (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+C (Mac). A box appears showing pages, words, characters, and characters excluding spaces. You can also select specific text and the count updates for just that selection. Or just paste your text here.

Studies suggest 1,500–2,500 words for comprehensive content. But quality matters more than quantity. My ranking data (from managing 50+ sites) shows pages over 1,200 words with proper structure outperform shorter pages. Don't pad with fluff—Google's algorithms detect that now.

Yes, completely free. I keep the lights on with minimal, non-intrusive advertising and an optional Pro version with extra features. No account required, no email signup, no paywall. If you find it useful, share it with a friend.