How it works
This online word counter counts the words in your text as you type, with characters, sentences, paragraphs and lines beside them. The sample holds 24 words in 2 paragraphs.
Read the full guide
What counts as a word
A hyphen or an apostrophe keeps a word whole, so well-known and don’t are one each. A long dash typed without spaces splits the words on either side of it. A number, a web address or an e-mail address is one word. An emoji standing alone is none.
Word calculator for one paragraph or one sentence
The count covers whatever is in the box: an essay, an article, a blog post or a whole document. Paste one paragraph or one sentence and the number of words is that part’s alone.
Words in text written without spaces
Chinese, Japanese and Thai put no spaces between words, so the browser’s dictionary splits them and the count is marked as an estimate. The word counters by language name each count in that language’s own terms.
Questions and answers
How many words is this?
Type or paste the text and the first number is the answer. Every stretch between spaces that holds a letter or a digit is one word.
Can I use it as an essay word counter?
Yes. Paste the essay and read Words. Its title, headings, quotations and reference list are counted when they are in the box, so paste only what your brief counts.
Does this tool work as a word count checker for a word limit?
Yes. Set the limit to the number in your brief, say 500, and the page keeps a running count of the words left, then of the words over.
What is a word count?
A word count is the number of words in a text. It stays the same whatever the font, the spacing or the page size, which a page count does not.
What is the difference between characters and word count?
Characters adds up every letter, digit, mark and space, and the word count adds up the stretches between spaces. The sample’s first sentence, “The library closes at six.”, is 26 characters and 5 words.