About the Word Counter
Tezmy's Word Counter counts your words and characters live as you type. It also shows sentences, paragraphs, reading time, speaking time and the keywords you use most, which makes it handy for essays, blog posts, social media captions, speeches and SEO content. Your text is saved automatically in your own browser so you can close the tab and come back later, and nothing is ever uploaded to a server.
Updated October 2026
How to use the Word Counter
- 1Type or paste your text into the box.
- 2Watch the word, character and sentence counts update instantly.
- 3Check the reading and speaking time, and your top keywords below the box.
- 4Copy, download or clear your text with the buttons.
Typical word counts and limits
Knowing the usual length helps you plan your writing. These are common guidelines and limits:
- 500 words: about one page single-spaced, or two pages double-spaced (12 pt font).
- College application essays: often 250 to 650 words.
- Blog posts: usually 800 to 2,000 words; guides can be longer.
- A post on X (Twitter): up to 280 characters.
- An SMS text message: 160 characters before it splits into two messages.
- A Google meta description: roughly 150 to 160 characters before it is cut off.
How reading and speaking time work
Reading time assumes an average adult silent reading speed of 238 words per minute, so a 1,000-word article takes about 4 minutes to read. Speaking time uses 150 words per minute, a comfortable pace for a presentation or speech: a 5-minute talk is roughly 750 words.
Everyone reads and speaks at a different speed, so treat these numbers as a guide. If you are practising a speech, read it aloud once with a timer and compare.
Characters with and without spaces
Some limits count every character including spaces, while others count only letters and symbols. Social media sites, SMS and most form fields count spaces, so use the Characters number. Some translation and school assignments count characters without spaces, so check the No spaces number for those.
Using top keywords to improve your writing
Below the box you'll see the words you use most, with common words like “the” and “and” left out. Writers use this to spot repetition, and bloggers use it to check that a page really is about its main topic. Aim for natural writing: if one word appears far more than the rest, try a few synonyms instead. If you are polishing text, the Case Converter changes capitals in one click, and Remove Line Breaks makes broken paragraphs run together. Remove Duplicate Lines clears repeated entries from a list, and Text to Speech lets you hear how a draft sounds before you submit it.
Features
- Live word and character count
- Characters with and without spaces
- Sentence and paragraph count
- Reading and speaking time
- Top keywords, great for SEO
- Auto-saves in your browser
- Download your text as a .txt file
- Works offline once loaded
Frequently asked questions
How are words counted?
A word is any group of letters or numbers. Words joined with an apostrophe or hyphen, like “don't” or “well-known”, count as one word. Spaces and punctuation are not counted as words.
Does the character count include spaces?
The Characters number includes spaces. The No spaces number shows the count with all spaces and line breaks removed.
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time assumes an average silent reading speed of 238 words per minute. Speaking time assumes 150 words per minute, a typical pace for presentations and speeches.
How many words is one page?
Roughly 500 words for a single-spaced page and 250 words for a double-spaced page, using a 12pt font and standard margins.
Is my text private?
Yes. Everything runs in your browser. Your text is only saved on your own device so it is still there when you come back, and you can clear it at any time.
Can I count words in a Word document or PDF?
Yes. Open the document, select all the text (Ctrl+A or Cmd+A), copy it and paste it into the box. Formatting is ignored, so only the words are counted.
Does the word counter work on my phone?
Yes. It works in any mobile browser. Paste your text or type it directly, and the counts update as you type.
Is there a word limit?
No. You can paste long essays, reports or even whole book chapters. Very long texts may take a moment to count on older phones.