How to use Word Counter
- Paste or type your text into the box.
- Read live counts for words, characters, and more.
- Use reading time as a rough guide for length.
Worked examples
Concrete numbers and cases you can check against the tool above.
College essay with a 650-word cap
Paste the draft and watch words, characters, and reading time. A 650-word Common App essay is typically ~3,800–4,200 characters including spaces. If you are 80 words over, cut examples, not the thesis. Reading time assumes ~200–250 words per minute for silent reading.
When to use Word Counter
Essays, SEO drafts, captions, and proposals all have length targets. A live counter with reading time helps you hit limits without pasting into multiple apps.
Common use cases
- Stay under a college essay word maximum.
- Trim meta descriptions toward a search-friendly length.
- Check caption limits before posting to social platforms.
- Estimate reading time for a newsletter draft.
Inputs and outputs
- Plain text pasted or typed in the browser
Privacy
This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your data never leaves your device — nothing is uploaded to our servers.
Frequently asked questions
- Does it count spaces as characters?
- Character counts typically include spaces unless a separate “without spaces” metric is shown.
- How is reading time estimated?
- It uses a typical words-per-minute assumption. Actual reading speed varies by person and content.
- Is my text stored?
- No. Text stays in your browser.