Free Word Counter and Character Counter

Common length targets

College application essays often cap at 650 words. Meta descriptions display best under about 155 characters. X (Twitter) posts allow 280 characters for standard accounts. A typical blog post runs 1,200–2,000 words.

What gets counted

Words, characters with and without spaces, sentences and paragraphs update as you type. Reading time assumes about 238 words per minute for silent reading, and speaking time assumes about 140 words per minute — useful for presentations, videos and podcasts.

Words are counted as runs of letters and numbers, including hyphenated words and contractions, so “well-known” and “don't” each count as one word.

Length guidelines for common formats

A Common App personal statement is limited to 650 words. Typical college essays run 500–1,000 words. A cover letter usually works best at 250–400 words. Meta descriptions display best under about 155 characters and title tags under about 60. A five-minute talk is roughly 650–750 spoken words.

Always follow the specific limit your teacher, publisher or platform gives you; these are only common starting points.

Private by design

The counter runs entirely in your browser. Your text is not uploaded, and drafts you save are kept only in this browser on this device.