Free Word Count Online
A college essay says "between 1500 and 1800 words". A LinkedIn post will be cut off after 3000 characters. A meta description has to fit in 160 characters or Google truncates it. A Twitter post is 280. Our free online Word Counter answers all of these in one place — paste or type your text and the counts update with every keystroke. You see words, characters with spaces, characters without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, and an estimated reading time based on the average adult reading speed of about 250 words per minute. The tool also runs the standard case-transformation operations (UPPERCASE, lowercase, Title Case, Sentence case) so you can fix the cap-locks accident that ruined your first draft without retyping anything. Real-world workflows: confirming an essay hits the assigned word count before submission, tightening a meta description to fit the [SEO Title Analyzer](/tools/seo-title-analyzer) limits, checking a tweet draft before pasting it into the compose box, counting paragraphs in a long-form blog post for the editor, or estimating how long a speech will take to deliver based on word count. The reading time estimate is genuinely useful for blog editors deciding whether a post needs trimming, and it adjusts in real time as you edit. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded, nothing is logged, and there is no daily limit. If you also want a readability score (Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning Fog) the [Readability Checker](/tools/readability-checker) is the right next stop, and the [Lorem Ipsum Generator](/tools/lorem-ipsum) is the place to grab placeholder text when you need to test how a layout will look at a specific word count.
How to Use Word Count
Paste or Type Your Text
Drop your draft into the editor box. The statistics panel updates the moment characters appear — there is no Count button to press.
Read the Live Statistics
Words, characters (with and without spaces), sentences, paragraphs, and reading time all display alongside the editor and recalculate on every keystroke.
Apply Case Transformations
Click UPPERCASE, lowercase, Title Case, or Sentence case to transform the entire text in place — useful for fixing accidental caps lock or normalising headings.
Features
Live Counts
Words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, and reading time update on every keystroke. No button to press.
Two Character Modes
See characters both with and without spaces — important because Twitter counts spaces but some other limits do not.
Reading Time Estimate
Based on the average adult reading speed of 250 words per minute. A useful sanity check for blog and newsletter editors.
Case Transformation
One-click conversion between UPPERCASE, lowercase, Title Case, and Sentence case — without losing the rest of your formatting.
Benefits of Using Word Count
Completely Free
Use Word Count without any cost, limits, or hidden fees. No premium plans needed.
No Installation
Works directly in your browser. No software downloads or plugins required.
100% Private
Your files and data are processed locally. Nothing is uploaded to external servers.
Works Everywhere
Compatible with Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge on desktop, tablet, and mobile.
No Sign-Up
Start using the tool immediately. No account creation or email verification.
Always Available
Access this tool 24/7 from anywhere in the world, on any device.
Frequently Asked Questions
Complete Your Text Tools Workflow
These free tools work seamlessly with Word Count to handle every step of your workflow.