Type or paste directly into the box, or click Open 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
What Counts Toward Your Word Count?
Word limits are set by your department or publisher, not by a style guide — APA, MLA and Harvard define how you cite, not what a limit includes. The conventions below are the ones most handbooks follow, but your own brief always overrides them. When a limit is tight, count the exact text you will submit by pasting it above.
Reference list & bibliography
Normally excluded. Most universities count only the body of the work, so a 2,000-word essay means 2,000 words before the references. Paste just the body above to get the figure that will be marked.
In-text citations
Normally included. "(Smith, 2019)" sits inside your sentences, so it is counted like any other text — and it adds up, because a date and a bracketed surname count as two words each time.
Abstract
Usually has its own separate limit rather than sitting inside the main one. Count it on its own: paste the abstract alone to check it against a 150- or 250-word cap.
Title page & headings
The title page is excluded. Section headings inside the body are usually counted, since they are part of the document text — worth remembering if you use many short subheadings.
Footnotes & endnotes
The most variable case. Notes that are purely bibliographic are often excluded; notes carrying argument or explanation are usually counted. Check the handbook before relying on footnotes to gain room.
Appendices, tables & captions
Appendices are normally excluded, and so are the contents of tables and figures along with their captions. They are not a loophole: markers expect the argument to live in the body.
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 — the word counter reads PDF and Word (.docx) documents as well as plain text. Click Open 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?
The word counter 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 open 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 word counter reports characters both with and without spaces. 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, which is 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.
Does the word count include references and the bibliography?
In most cases, the word count does not include references or the bibliography. The standard convention is that a word limit covers the body of the work only, so the reference list or bibliography sits outside it, along with the title page and any appendices. In-text citations are the opposite: they fall inside your sentences and are counted. Because institutions set their own rules, check the assignment brief or handbook — and when the limit is tight, paste only the text that counts into the box above.
Do footnotes, the abstract, and headings count toward the word limit?
Headings inside the body are normally counted, because they are part of the document text. An abstract usually has its own separate limit rather than sitting inside the main one, so count it on its own. Footnotes and endnotes are the most variable case: notes that are purely bibliographic are often excluded, while notes carrying explanation or argument are usually counted. None of this is fixed by APA, MLA or Harvard — those define citation format, not limits — so your handbook decides.
How many pages is 500, 1,000, or 2,000 words?
Using the common academic default of 12pt Times New Roman with one-inch margins, a double-spaced page holds roughly 250 words and a single-spaced page roughly 500. On that basis 500 words is about two double-spaced pages or one single-spaced, 1,000 words about four or two, and 2,000 words about eight or four. Half a page is roughly 125 words double-spaced. Font, spacing, headings, and images all shift the result, so treat page counts as estimates and the word count as the real measure.