Free Word Counter & Character Counter
Paste or type your text below for an instant word count, character count, reading time, speaking time, and keyword density — no sign-up, nothing stored, everything runs in your browser.
Platform Character Limits
See how your text measures up against common character limits, updated live as you type.
Keyword Density
The most frequently used words in your text, excluding common stop words like "the" and "and".
Why Word Count Still Matters
Word and character limits show up everywhere in writing, even though most of us never think about them until we hit one. Academic essays are graded partly on whether they meet a required word count. Search engines truncate meta descriptions and title tags at a fixed character length, so anything past that point never gets seen. Social platforms cap post length to keep content scannable, and SMS messages split into multiple segments once you cross 160 characters.
Knowing your count before you hit submit saves a rewrite later, whether that's trimming an essay down to a word limit, tightening a headline so it doesn't get cut off in search results, or making sure a tweet fits without needing a thread.
How reading and speaking time are calculated
Reading time is based on an average adult silent reading speed of roughly 225 words per minute, a figure widely used by publishers and blogging platforms to estimate "X minute read" labels. Speaking time assumes a slower, more deliberate pace of about 130 words per minute, closer to how people actually talk during a presentation or speech, where pauses and emphasis slow things down compared to silent reading.
Both figures are estimates. Dense technical writing reads slower than casual prose, and a practiced speaker can comfortably exceed 130 words per minute — treat these numbers as a useful baseline, not a hard rule.
Common word count targets
- College application essays typically cap out around 500-650 words.
- SEO blog posts that rank well often run 1,000-2,000+ words, though quality matters more than length.
- Cover letters are generally most effective between 250-400 words.
- Meta descriptions are usually truncated by Google around 155-160 characters.
- Elevator pitches are built to fit in about 30 seconds of speaking time — roughly 65-75 words.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is word count calculated?
WordTally splits your text on whitespace and counts each resulting chunk as one word, the same approach used by Microsoft Word and Google Docs. Hyphenated words count as one word; standalone punctuation does not count.
Does character count include spaces?
WordTally shows both figures side by side: characters with spaces (the raw length of your text) and characters without spaces. Most platform limits, like X/Twitter's 280 characters, count spaces.
How is reading time estimated?
Reading time uses an average adult silent reading speed of 225 words per minute. Speaking time uses an average speaking pace of 130 words per minute.
What counts as a sentence or paragraph?
Sentences are estimated by counting terminal punctuation (periods, question marks, exclamation points). Paragraphs are counted as blocks of text separated by a blank line.
Why do platforms have different character limits?
Each platform sets limits based on its format: X/Twitter caps posts at 280 characters, Google typically truncates meta descriptions around 155-160 characters, and SMS messages split into multiple segments after 160 characters.
Is my text stored or sent anywhere?
No. All counting happens directly in your browser using JavaScript. Nothing you type is transmitted to or stored on any server.