Free Word & Character Counter

Count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs in real time. Paste text or upload a PDF or Word file.

Writing to a limit? Try the Essay Word Counter — Common App, IELTS, TOEFL & UCAS 2026 presets with a live progress bar.

Your text

Tip: drag a file straight onto the box. Everything runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded.

0Words
0Characters
0No spaces
0Sentences
0Paragraphs
0Unique
0sReading time
0sSpeaking time
Characters left: X / Twitter280 X bio · SMS160 Meta title60 Meta description155 Instagram caption2,200 Google Ads headline30 All limits →
Sort & filter

Word Frequency Counter

0 words

Paste or upload text to see word frequency.

How the Word Counter Works

1

Add your text

Type or paste directly into the box, or click Upload file to pull in a .txt, .pdf, or .docx document. You can also drag a file straight onto the text area. PDF and Word files are parsed in your browser, so nothing is ever uploaded to a server.

2

Watch the counts update live

Words, characters, characters without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, unique words, and reading and speaking time all recalculate on every keystroke. There is no Count button to press — the numbers are always current.

3

Sort and filter word frequency

The frequency table shows how often each distinct word appears. Sort by frequency, alphabetically, or by length, then narrow the list with a minimum length, a starting letter, a stop-word filter, or case sensitivity. Filters combine, so you can isolate exactly the words that matter.

4

Copy what you need

Click Copy stats to grab the full count summary, or Copy list to export the filtered word-frequency table as tab-separated rows you can paste straight into a spreadsheet. Then keep editing — the tool tracks every change instantly.

Who Uses a Word Counter?

Students & Essays

Hit assignment targets without guesswork. Track word count as you write to stay inside a 500- or 2,000-word limit, and use the sentence and paragraph counts to keep structure balanced before you submit.

Writers & Editors

Monitor draft length, spot overused words with the frequency table, and tighten prose. Filtering out stop words quickly reveals which content words you lean on too heavily across a chapter or article.

SEO & Marketing

Meta titles and descriptions live and die by character limits. Use the character counts to fit a 60-character title or 155-character description, and check keyword frequency to avoid stuffing.

Speakers & Presenters

Speaking time at roughly 130 words per minute turns a script into a schedule. Trim or expand a talk to fit a five-minute slot or a conference keynote without rehearsing with a stopwatch.

Social & Messaging

Stay under platform limits for posts, bios, and ad copy. The no-spaces character count matches the way many networks measure length, so what you see is what will fit.

Translators & Freelancers

Quote and invoice by the word. Upload a PDF or Word file, read the exact word count in seconds, and use unique-word counts to gauge how repetitive — and how fast — a job will be.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the word counter count words?
The counter splits your text into tokens using a Unicode-aware rule: a word is any run of letters or numbers, optionally joined by an apostrophe or hyphen, so contractions like "don't" and hyphenated terms like "well-known" each count as a single word. Counting happens live in your browser as you type or paste, with no text ever sent to a server. Characters, sentences, and paragraphs are tallied at the same time.
Can I count words in a PDF or Word (.docx) document?
Yes. Click Upload file and choose a .txt, .pdf, or .docx file, or drag it onto the text box. PDF text is extracted with pdf.js and Word .docx text with mammoth.js — both run entirely in your browser, so your document never leaves your device. Scanned PDFs that contain images rather than real text cannot be read; in that case, paste the text in directly.
How does the reading time calculator work?
Reading time assumes an average silent reading speed of 225 words per minute, and speaking time assumes 130 words per minute, a typical presentation pace. Both update live as your word count changes. Under one minute the tool shows seconds, so short snippets still get a meaningful estimate. Treat these as planning guides for essays, speeches, and scripts rather than exact measurements.
What do the sort and filter options do?
The word-frequency table lists every distinct word and how many times it appears. Sort by frequency, alphabetically, or by word length to surface patterns. Filters let you set a minimum word length, show only words starting with a chosen letter, exclude common stop words like "the" and "and", and toggle case sensitivity. Every filter is optional and they combine, so you can isolate exactly the words you care about.
Is the word counter free and private?
It is completely free with no sign-up, login, or payment, and there are no usage limits. Everything runs locally in your browser — your text and any files you upload are processed on your own device and are never uploaded to a server or stored. Closing or refreshing the page clears everything.
Does it count characters with and without spaces?
Yes. The Characters stat counts every character including spaces, line breaks, and punctuation, which is the figure most platforms use for limits. The Characters (no spaces) stat strips all whitespace, useful when a guideline counts only visible characters. Both are shown side by side so you can match whichever limit your assignment, tweet, or meta description requires.

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