Free Online Word Counter: Count Characters, Words & Sentences

What is an Online Word Counter?

Writing isn’t just about creativity; it’s often about constraints. Whether you are a student sticking to a 1,000-word essay limit, a social media manager crafting the perfect tweet, or an SEO expert optimizing a meta description, knowing your exact text length is crucial.

Our Free Word Counter is more than just a calculator. It is a real-time text analyzer.

Unlike Microsoft Word or Google Docs, which take time to load, this tool runs instantly in your browser. As you type (or paste) your text, it updates your stats live, helping you edit with precision.

How to Use This Tool

We designed this tool for speed and privacy.

1. Type or Paste: Simply click inside the text box and start writing, or paste text from another document (Ctrl+V).
2. View Real-Time Stats: Look at the counter bar to see:
   • Words: The total number of words.
   • Characters (with spaces): The total keystrokes (essential for tweets).
   • Characters (no spaces): Useful for certain coding or design constraints.
   • Sentences/Paragraphs: Helps you analyze the readability and flow of your text.
3. Edit on the Fly: If your text is too long, delete words and watch the counter drop instantly.

Cheat Sheet: Character Limits for Social Media (2026)

One of the biggest reasons people use this tool is to ensure their posts don’t get cut off. Here are the current limits for the major platforms:

• X (Twitter): 280 characters (Free users) / 25,000 (Premium).
• Instagram Caption: 2,200 characters (but truncates after 125 characters).
• Instagram Bio: 150 characters.
• LinkedIn Post: 3,000 characters.
• Google Meta Description: ~160 characters (anything longer gets cut off in search results).
• Google SEO Title: ~60 characters.

Tip: Use this tool to trim your text until it fits perfectly within these limits.

Why Accuracy Matters (Use Cases)

1. Freelance Writers & Copywriters

Many writers are paid “per word.” If you charge $0.10 per word and write a 1,500-word article, you need to know exactly how much to invoice. Using a reliable counter ensures you get paid for every word you write.

2. Students & Academics

“Submit a 500-word abstract.” In academia, going under the limit can look lazy, and going over can lead to penalties. Our tool helps you land exactly in the “sweet spot” of the requirement.

3. Translators

Translation pricing is often based on the character count (excluding spaces) of the source text. Our tool breaks this metric down specifically so you can calculate quotes accurately.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Does this tool count spaces as characters?

We provide both numbers. You will see a count for “Characters (with spaces)” and “Characters (without spaces).”

• Twitter counts spaces.
• Translation software usually ignores spaces.

2. Is my text private?

Yes. This is a Client-Side tool. Your text is processed strictly within your web browser. We do not save, store, or read a single word of what you type. It is 100% secure for confidential documents.

3. Why is the word count different from Microsoft Word?

Different programs have slightly different rules for what counts as a “word.” (For example, does “hyphenated-word” count as one or two?). Our algorithm follows the standard web publishing guidelines used by WordPress and Google.

4. Is there a limit to how much text I can check?

There is no hard limit. You can paste an entire novel if you want! However, for extremely large documents (100,000+ words), your browser might slow down slightly during the paste action.