Free tool, runs in your browser
Word Counter with reading time and SEO length guidance
Paste your text to count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs, see the reading time, and check whether it fits a title, a meta description or a social post.
Count your text
Paste or type. The numbers update as you write.
Why use the Word Counter
Every count
Words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, unique words and the longest sentence.
Reading and speaking time
Based on 238 words a minute for silent reading and 150 for speaking.
Fits or not
See at a glance whether the text fits a title tag, a meta description, a post on X or LinkedIn.
Private
Your text never leaves your browser.
When to use the Word Counter
Blog posts
Check the length of a draft against the posts that rank for the topic.
Meta descriptions
Count characters before you paste a description into the CMS.
Social posts
Keep a post under the limit of the network.
Essays and briefs
Hit a word count without counting by hand.
Speeches
Estimate how long a script takes to read aloud.
Readability
Find long sentences that make a page hard to read.
Understanding Word Counter
How the counts work
- 1Words. Groups of letters or digits separated by spaces. Hyphenated words and contractions count as one.
- 2Sentences. Text ending with a full stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark.
- 3Paragraphs. Blocks of text separated by an empty line or a line break.
- 4Reading time. Words divided by 238, the average silent reading speed of adults.
How long should a page be
Length is not a ranking factor. A page ranks when it answers the search better than the others, and some answers are short. The guidance in the tool shows the range that is common for each kind of page, as a sanity check, not a target.
If your page is much shorter than the pages that rank, check what they cover that you do not. If it is much longer, check whether every section earns its place.
Readability
The Flesch reading ease score rates English text from 0 to 100. Scores of 60 and above read easily for most adults. Short sentences and common words raise the score. It is a rough guide and does not work for other languages.
Privacy
The counter runs entirely in your browser. Your text is kept in this browser only, so a reload does not lose it.
Related tools and guides
Frequently asked questions
How many words should a blog post have?
As many as the topic needs. Posts that rank for competitive topics are often 1,000 to 2,500 words, but a short, complete answer beats a long, padded one.
Does word count affect SEO?
Not directly. Search engines rank the page that best satisfies the search. Length follows from covering the topic, not the other way round.
How is reading time calculated?
Words divided by 238 words a minute, the average silent reading speed found in a 2019 review of 190 studies.
Are numbers counted as words?
Yes. 2026 and 3.5 count as one word each.
Do you count characters with spaces?
Both are shown. Most limits, such as the 280 characters of a post on X, include spaces.
Is my text stored?
Only in your browser, so the text survives a reload. It is never sent to Aback.
Can I check keyword use too?
Yes. The keyword density checker counts how often each word and phrase appears in the same text.