World's Best Word Counter

Free online word and character counter. Instantly count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs - with reading time, keyword density, and social media character limits.

🔒 100% private - your text never leaves your browser

Keyword density

Start typing to see your most-used words - handy for spotting repetition and checking SEO focus keywords.

Character limits

X counts links as 23 characters and most emoji as 2, so its real remaining count can differ slightly.

Instant & accurate

Counts update live on every keystroke and match how word processors count - hyphenated words count once, numbers count as words.

Private by design

Everything runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, tracked, or stored on a server - drafts autosave only to your own device.

Free, forever

No sign-up, no limits, no ads chasing you around. It even keeps working offline once the page has loaded.

How many pages is my word count?

Page count depends on font, size, margins, and spacing, so publishers and teachers use a standard convention: 12-point Times New Roman with 1-inch margins. On that basis a single-spaced page holds about 500 words and a double-spaced page about 250. Quick reference:

Estimates based on 12-pt Times New Roman, 1-inch margins. Your exact layout may vary.
Word countPages (single-spaced)Pages (double-spaced)
250 words½ page1 page
500 words1 page2 pages
750 words1½ pages3 pages
1,000 words2 pages4 pages
1,500 words3 pages6 pages
2,000 words4 pages8 pages
2,500 words5 pages10 pages
5,000 words10 pages20 pages
10,000 words20 pages40 pages

How many words is a speech or presentation?

Most people present at 125–150 words per minute - slower than conversation, because pauses and emphasis eat time. So a 5-minute speech is roughly 625–750 words, and a 20-minute talk runs about 2,500–3,000. Write to the low end if you use slides or expect questions.

Word budgets by speaking time. The tool's speaking-time estimate uses the 150 wpm average.
Speaking timeSlow pace (125 wpm)Average pace (150 wpm)
1 minute125 words150 words
2 minutes250 words300 words
3 minutes375 words450 words
5 minutes625 words750 words
10 minutes1,250 words1,500 words
15 minutes1,875 words2,250 words
20 minutes2,500 words3,000 words
30 minutes3,750 words4,500 words
60 minutes7,500 words9,000 words

Word count guidelines for essays, blogs, and books

Common targets and hard limits writers are asked to hit, in one place:

Hard limits are enforced by the platform; ranges are widely used conventions.
FormatTypical length or limit
X (Twitter) post280 characters (standard accounts)
SMS text message160 characters per segment (70 with emoji)
Meta description~160 characters recommended
Instagram caption2,200 characters max
Common App personal essay250–650 words
High school essay300–1,000 words
Blog post1,000–2,500 words
College term paper1,500–5,000 words
Short story1,000–7,500 words
Novella17,500–40,000 words
NaNoWriMo novel goal50,000 words
Adult novel70,000–100,000 words

Frequently asked questions

How does this word counter count words?

A word is any run of characters separated by spaces or line breaks, so hyphenated compounds like “well-known” count as one word and numbers count as words. For languages written without spaces, such as Chinese and Japanese, each character is counted as a word. This closely matches how word processors like Microsoft Word and Google Docs count, though different tools can differ by a word or two on edge cases.

How many pages is 1,000 words?

About 2 pages single-spaced or 4 pages double-spaced, using the standard convention of 12-point Times New Roman with 1-inch margins. Font, font size, margins, and paragraph spacing all shift the result, so treat page estimates as approximations.

How many words is a 5-minute speech?

Roughly 625–750 words. Most people speak at 125–150 words per minute in a presentation, so multiply your speaking time in minutes by your pace. Slow down for emphasis and pauses and you'll land near the lower end.

Is my text saved or sent anywhere?

No. Everything is calculated by JavaScript running in your browser - your text is never uploaded, logged, or shared. As a convenience, a draft is autosaved to your own browser's local storage on your device, and pressing Clear removes it.

Why do some emoji count as 2 characters?

Computers store text as UTF-16 code units, and many emoji and rare symbols take two units. This counter counts characters the same way, which matches how most platforms enforce their limits - X (Twitter), for example, counts most emoji as 2 characters.

What is the character limit on X (Twitter)?

280 characters for standard accounts (paid subscribers can post longer). Note that X counts every link as 23 characters regardless of its real length, and most emoji count as 2.

How accurate are the reading time and speaking time estimates?

They use widely cited averages: 225 words per minute for silent reading and 150 words per minute for speaking. Real speeds vary with the reader, the audience, and how technical the text is, so treat them as good planning estimates rather than guarantees.

Does the word counter work offline?

Yes. The entire tool is a single page with no server calls, so once it has loaded it keeps working without a connection. You can even save the page to your device and use it anywhere.