To count words online, paste your text into the editor above. The word counter shows the word count and character count at the top as you type, and the Details panel adds sentences, paragraphs, reading time, speaking time and reading level. Counting runs in your browser. Select Review writing only if you want an AI check.
How to use the word counter
- Add your text. Type in the editor, paste from a document, or select Import TXT to load a plain-text file. Use sample fills in a short example if you want to see how it works first.
- Read the counts. Words and Characters update at the top as you type. The Details card on the right shows Sentences, Paragraphs, Reading Level, Reading Time and Speaking Time. Pick a Writing mode (General, SEO meta, Social post or Blog article) to get a length or structure check for that kind of text.
- Check repetition and keywords. The Keyword Density card lists your most used terms. Open Advanced writing analysis to see repeated phrases, repeated sentences, average sentence length and unique words.
- Clean up or export. The Cleanup & case button opens actions that trim extra spaces, remove extra blank lines, change case, and export your text as TXT or a stats report as JSON. Export PDF sits under More tools.
How the word count is calculated
A word is any run of letters or numbers. Contractions and hyphenated words count once, so don't and well-known are one word each, and a number like 2026 is one word. Stray symbols such as & or a lone dash are not counted. Microsoft Word counts anything between spaces, so its total can differ by a few words.
The character count includes letters, spaces and punctuation but leaves out line breaks. If you need characters without spaces, UTF-8 bytes or limits for X, Instagram and SMS, use the character counter instead.
| Count | What the tool counts |
|---|---|
| Words | Runs of letters or numbers; contractions and hyphenated words count once |
| Characters | Everything you typed except line breaks |
| Sentences | Text ending in a period, question mark or exclamation mark |
| Paragraphs | Blocks of text separated by a blank line |
Sentence detection is simple: an abbreviation like Dr. or e.g. ends a sentence as far as the counter knows, so the sentence count can run slightly high on technical writing.
Reading time, speaking time and reading level
Reading Time assumes a silent reading speed of 270 words per minute. Speaking Time assumes 175 words per minute, a steady pace for a talk or a recorded voice-over. A 1,350-word article therefore shows about 5 minutes to read and close to 8 minutes to speak. Use these as estimates, since real speed depends on the reader and the topic.
Reading Level uses the Flesch-Kincaid grade formula: 0.39 times the average words per sentence, plus 11.8 times the average syllables per word, minus 15.59. The result is rounded to a US school grade from 1 to 16 and labeled Basic, Middle School, High School or College Student. Syllables are estimated from vowel groups, so the score is designed for English and is less reliable for other languages.
Essay word counter: hitting a word limit
For essays, keep the editor open while you write and watch the count under the box. To get under a limit:
- Check the Flow Score card. It sorts your sentences into lengths from 1 word to 40+ words, and a pile of 40+ word sentences is usually the fastest place to cut.
- Open Repeated Phrases in the advanced analysis. Phrases you've used three or four times are easy trims.
- Ask your teacher whether titles, headings and references count. The counter counts everything in the box, so paste only the part that's graded.
As a rough guide, a single-spaced page in a 12-point font holds about 500 words, and a double-spaced page about 250.
Keyword density and repetition checks
The Keyword Density card lists up to 14 of your most frequent terms with their count and share of the text. Common words such as the, and and with are ignored, and you can remove any noisy term from the list.
Repetition Signals compares your text with itself: repeated sentences, duplicate paragraphs and phrases you reuse. It does not search the web, so treat it as a self-editing aid, not a plagiarism check. If you need to compare two versions of a draft, paste them into the diff checker.
What the AI writing tools do
The AI buttons are optional and clearly separated under AI writing in More tools. Correct writing fixes grammar, spelling and punctuation and returns a faithful version plus a lightly polished one. Improve clarity rewrites for structure and flow. Find keywords suggests short-tail and long-tail keywords, headline ideas and SEO tips. Review writing scores Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation, Clarity, Readability, Flow, Keyword Use and Originality from 0 to 100.
When you use one of these buttons, your text goes to ToolzyLab's server and is processed by an AI model, as described in the AI usage policy. Don't paste passwords, client data or anything confidential. If the AI service is busy, Review writing falls back to a report built by the local analyzer, and the other AI buttons show a message and leave your text unchanged.
Frequently asked questions
Is this word counter free?
Yes. The word counter is free with no sign-up and no limit on how often you use it. The AI buttons are free too, but they're rate limited to a few requests per minute.
Is my text uploaded when I count words?
No. Word, character, sentence and paragraph counts are calculated in your browser. Text is only sent to ToolzyLab's server when you select one of the AI writing buttons.
Does the character count include spaces?
Yes. The Characters figure includes spaces and punctuation but not line breaks. For a separate count without spaces, use the ToolzyLab character counter.
How many words is a 5-minute speech?
At the 175 words per minute this tool uses for Speaking Time, a 5-minute speech is about 875 words. Slower speakers land closer to 650 to 750 words.
Can I save my draft?
Yes. Turn on Auto save to store the draft in your browser every 5 seconds, or select Save snapshot to keep up to 25 versions. Both stay in this browser's local storage and are lost if you clear site data.
Does the word counter work in other languages?
Word and character counts work for any language that separates words with spaces, including accented letters. Reading Level is built for English, and languages written without spaces, such as Chinese or Japanese, won't count accurately.