Word & Character Counter
Live counts as you type, with reading time, a progress bar against your limit, and the words you're repeating most.
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type here is uploaded, stored or logged.
Common word limits, and what they mean in practice
| Where | Limit | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| X / Twitter post | 280 characters | ~45 words |
| SMS (single message) | 160 characters | ~25 words |
| Meta title tag | ~60 characters | 8–10 words |
| Meta description | ~155 characters | 20–25 words |
| LinkedIn post (before “see more”) | ~210 characters | ~35 words |
| UCAS personal statement | 4,000 characters | ~600 words |
| Common App essay | 650 words | ~2.5 pages |
| Academic abstract | 150–300 words | 1 paragraph |
| Standard blog post | 800–1,500 words | 4–7 min read |
Reading time versus speaking time
Silent reading averages around 225 words a minute for ordinary prose. Reading aloud is much slower — about 130 words a minute if you want to be understood rather than admired. That gap catches people out constantly when preparing talks.
A five-minute conference slot is roughly 650 spoken words, not the 1,100 that silent reading time would suggest. Write to the speaking figure, then cut 10% for pauses and the inevitable ad-libbing.
How pages are estimated
The page count assumes the academic standard: 12pt, double-spaced, one-inch margins, which works out at roughly 250 words per page. Single-spaced, expect around 500. If a submission specifies pages rather than words, confirm the formatting — the difference between the two conventions is a factor of two.
Using the repeated-words panel
Open “most-used words” after a first draft. Common filler is filtered out, so what remains is the vocabulary you're actually leaning on. Two patterns are worth acting on: a content word appearing far more than the rest usually signals a sentence-opening habit, and a cluster of near-synonyms often means you're circling a point rather than making it.
Cutting to fit a limit
- Delete intensifiers. “Very”, “really”, “quite”, “actually”, “basically” — almost always removable with no loss.
- Cut throat-clearing openers. “It is important to note that” is six words saying nothing.
- Prefer verbs to noun phrases. “We made a decision” → “we decided”.
- Remove the first sentence of each paragraph and see whether you miss it. Often you won't.
Frequently asked questions
How is a word counted?
Any run of characters separated by whitespace counts as one word. So “state-of-the-art” is one word, “don't” is one, and “A.I.” is one. This matches how Microsoft Word and Google Docs count, which matters when you're writing to a limit someone else will check.
Does the character count include spaces?
Both figures are shown. Social platforms and SMS count characters with spaces; some academic and legal limits specify without. Check which one your limit refers to before trusting the number.
How accurate is the reading time?
It assumes 225 words per minute, the middle of the typical adult silent-reading range of 200–250 for general prose. Technical or unfamiliar material reads slower — 100–150 wpm is realistic for dense text. Speaking is much slower still, around 130 wpm, which is why the speaking estimate is separate.
What is keyword density for?
It shows which words you lean on most, after removing common filler like “the” and “and”. Writers use it to catch unintentional repetition; people writing for search use it to check a topic is actually covered. There is no magic percentage to hit — anything above about 3% for a single word usually reads as awkward.
Is my text uploaded anywhere?
No. Counting happens in your browser as you type. Nothing is sent to a server, stored, or logged — safe for unpublished work, coursework and confidential drafts.