Word Counter & Text Analyzer
Count words, characters, sentences with reading time and readability analysis
Your Text
Words
0
Characters
0
0 no spaces
Sentences
0
Paragraphs
0
Reading Time
0 sec
@ 200 WPM
Speaking Time
0 sec
@ 130 WPM
Avg Word Length
0.0 chars
Readability Score
0.0
Very Difficult
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Word Counter & Text Analyzer — Free Online Tool
Count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs in real time. Get reading time, speaking time, Flesch-Kincaid readability score, and keyword density analysis. Paste any text — blog posts, essays, scripts, emails — and instantly see detailed statistics.
Ideal Word Counts by Content Type
- Twitter / X post — Up to 280 characters
- Instagram caption — 125 characters shown before "more"; 2,200 max
- LinkedIn post — 150 characters preview; 3,000 max
- Email subject line — 30–50 characters for best open rates
- Meta description — 150–160 characters for Google display
- Blog post (SEO) — 1,500–2,500+ words for competitive topics
- Short-form blog — 800–1,200 words for how-to guides
- Video script — ~130 words per minute of video
- Academic abstract — 150–250 words
- Cover letter — 250–400 words
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Scale
- 90–100 — Very Easy (5th grade). Comic books, children's books.
- 70–80 — Easy. Conversational blog posts, newsletters.
- 60–70 — Standard (7th–8th grade). Most web content, press releases.
- 50–60 — Fairly Difficult. Business reports, technical blogs.
- 30–50 — Difficult. Academic papers, legal documents.
- 0–30 — Very Difficult. Professional/scientific journals.
SEO Keyword Density Tips
The keyword density chart shows the most-used meaningful words (stop words excluded). For SEO, your primary keyword should appear approximately 1–2% of total word count. For a 1,500-word article, that is 15–30 mentions. Avoid "keyword stuffing" — content that exceeds 3–4% density may be flagged by Google's algorithms.
Character Limit Monitoring
Enable the character limit feature to track against platform-specific limits. Set 280 for Twitter, 160 for SMS, or 160 for meta descriptions. The counter shows remaining characters in green (plenty of room), amber (approaching limit), and red (over limit).
Frequently Asked Questions
How are words counted?
Words are counted by splitting text on whitespace and counting non-empty sequences of characters. Contractions like "don't" count as one word, and hyphenated words count as one word.
What is reading time based on?
Reading time is calculated at an average speed of 200 words per minute (WPM) for adults reading English. This is the average reading speed for comprehension.
How is the readability score calculated?
We use a simplified Flesch-Kincaid formula: 206.835 - 1.015×(words/sentences) - 84.6×(syllables/words). Higher scores mean easier reading (100+ = very easy, 0-30 = college level).
What are stop words?
Stop words are common words like "the," "is," "and," "a" that appear frequently in text but carry less meaning. We filter these out when analyzing keyword density to find the most meaningful words.
What is speaking time and how is it calculated?
Speaking time estimates how long it would take to read the text aloud, calculated at 130 words per minute — the average speaking pace for clear, measured speech. Presentation coaches recommend 100–130 WPM for public speaking. A 500-word blog post takes about 3.8 minutes to speak.
What does the Flesch-Kincaid readability score mean?
The Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease score (0–100) measures how easy text is to read. 90–100: Very Easy (5th grade), 70–80: Fairly Easy, 60–70: Standard (7th–8th grade), 50–60: Fairly Difficult, 30–50: Difficult (college level), 0–30: Very Difficult (professional/academic). Aim for 60+ for general web content.
How do I use this for SEO content?
For SEO articles, aim for 1,500–2,500+ words for long-form content. Check keyword density — your primary keyword should appear 1–2% of total word count (e.g., 15–30 times in a 1,500-word article). Check readability — Google prefers content readable at 7th–8th grade level (Flesch score 60–70) for most topics.
What is the ideal word count for different content types?
Blog posts: 1,500–2,500 words for SEO. Twitter/X: 280 characters. LinkedIn posts: 1,300 characters for full display. Email subject lines: 30–50 characters. Meta descriptions: 150–160 characters. YouTube video scripts: ~130 words per minute of video. Academic abstracts: 150–250 words.
Can I use this to count characters for social media?
Yes. The character count (with spaces) at the top matches what Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and most platforms count. Use the character limit feature to set a limit (e.g., 280 for Twitter) and get a real-time countdown showing characters remaining.
Why is my word count different from Microsoft Word?
Word processors may count hyphens, URLs, numbers, or special characters differently. This tool splits on whitespace, so 'hello-world' counts as one word, and a URL like https://example.com counts as one word. Microsoft Word counts hyphens as word breaks in some settings.