Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences and reading time, live as you type. Free, private, no sign-up.
A free word counter that just works
Paste an essay, a tweet, a meta description, or a chapter and this word counter updates instantly: words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, lines, and estimated reading and speaking time. Everything runs in your browser, so your writing never leaves your device and there is nothing to sign up for.
Handy limits to write against
- SEO title: ~60 characters · meta description: ~155 characters
- Tweet / X post: 280 characters · bio: 160 characters
- Reading time assumes 200 words per minute; speaking assumes 130.
Why writers keep losing their best lines
You copy a perfect sentence to move it somewhere, then copy something else, and it’s gone. Your clipboard remembers exactly one thing. Relic gives it a memory of everything: every snippet you copy is kept, searchable forever, on every device, and end-to-end encrypted so only you can read it. The word counter is free; never losing a draft again is the upgrade.
Frequently asked questions
How do I count words in my text?
Just type or paste your text into the box and the word count updates live as you go, no button to press. The counter splits your text on whitespace, so any run of spaces, tabs, or line breaks marks the boundary between two words.
How does the word counter count sentences and paragraphs?
Sentences are counted by looking for runs of period, question mark, or exclamation point followed by a space or the end of the text, so "Dr. Smith went home." counts as one sentence. Paragraphs are counted by splitting on blank lines, meaning two blocks of text separated by an empty line count as two paragraphs.
What is the difference between characters with and without spaces?
Characters counts every single character including spaces, tabs, and line breaks, which is the number most social and SEO limits use. Characters without spaces strips out all whitespace first, which some academic and translation word-count rules prefer. Both are shown side by side.
How is the reading time estimated?
Reading time assumes 200 words per minute, a common silent-reading pace for adults, and the speaking estimate uses 130 words per minute since we naturally slow down when reading aloud. Times are shown as minutes and seconds based on your live word count.
Is my text private when I use this word counter?
Yes. All the counting happens right in your browser as you type, so nothing you write is ever uploaded or sent to a server. You can paste a confidential draft or an unpublished manuscript without it leaving your device.