Word Counter — Words, Characters & Reading Time

Which count actually matters

For essays and articles, word count is the metric — it correlates with depth. For tweets, meta descriptions and SMS, it's characters (and platforms count differently: some count spaces, some don't — this tool shows both). For SEO, meta descriptions cap around 155 characters, titles ~60.

The top-words list is the sleeper feature: it shows your keyword density at a glance. If your target keyword doesn't appear in the top 5 for an SEO article, it probably isn't optimized — and if it appears 30×, you're stuffing.

Reading time — the metric blogs got wrong

Medium popularized '~5 min read' at 200-275 wpm, but readers skim — actual comprehension runs closer to 180 wpm for technical content and 250+ for narrative. For content planning, assume people read 60% of what you write; if your point is in the last paragraph, most never see it.

Frequently asked questions

Does the counter include spaces?

Both are shown — total characters and characters excluding spaces, since platforms disagree on which they count.

How many words is a 5-minute read?

Roughly 1,000 words at 200 wpm. Blog posts of 800–1,500 words typically show '4–7 min read'.

Is word count good for SEO?

Length alone isn't a ranking factor — but thin content (<300 words) rarely ranks for competitive queries. Comprehensive coverage of a topic naturally produces length.

Why is my sentence count off?

Abbreviations (e.g., Mr., U.S.) split incorrectly on periods — a known limitation of sentence splitting. Word count is exact; sentences are approximate.