Free Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs in real time. Estimate reading and speaking time. Analyze keyword density.
Keyword Density
Free Online Word Counter and Character Counter
Whether you are writing an essay, blog post, social media caption, or email, knowing your word count and character count matters. SmarterSources' word counter analyzes your text instantly and shows you a full breakdown of words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, reading time, and speaking time. Everything runs directly in your browser — your text is never uploaded to any server.
How to Use the Word Counter
Simply type or paste your text into the text area above. All statistics update in real time as you type. The tool counts words by splitting your text on whitespace, counts sentences by detecting sentence-ending punctuation (.?!), and counts paragraphs by identifying blocks of text separated by blank lines. Reading time is calculated at an average reading speed of 200 words per minute, while speaking time uses 130 words per minute.
Keyword Density Analysis
The keyword density section displays the most frequently used words in your text. Common stop words (like "the", "and", "is") are excluded so you can focus on meaningful keywords. Each keyword shows its count and percentage of total words, helping you optimize content for SEO or check for overused terms. Only words that appear two or more times are displayed.
Why Word Count Matters
Many platforms and assignments have specific word count or character count requirements. Twitter posts are limited to 280 characters. Meta descriptions should stay under 160 characters. College essays often have strict word count limits. Blog posts typically perform best between 1,500 and 2,500 words for SEO. This tool helps you hit your target every time.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the word counter count words?
The word counter splits your text by whitespace (spaces, tabs, and line breaks) and counts each non-empty segment as a word. This matches the word counting method used by most text editors, including Microsoft Word and Google Docs. Hyphenated words like "well-known" are counted as one word.
What is the difference between characters and characters without spaces?
"Characters" counts every single character in your text, including spaces, punctuation, and line breaks. "Characters without spaces" excludes all whitespace characters, giving you only the count of letters, numbers, and symbols. Some platforms (like SMS) count all characters, while others only count non-space characters.
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time is estimated using the average adult silent reading speed of 200 words per minute. This is a widely accepted average backed by research. Speaking time uses 130 words per minute, which is a comfortable pace for presentations and speeches. Actual times may vary based on content complexity and the reader's or speaker's speed.
How does keyword density work?
Keyword density is calculated by dividing the number of times a word appears by the total number of words, then multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. Common English stop words (the, is, at, and, etc.) are filtered out so you see only meaningful content words. Words must appear at least twice to be shown in the analysis.
Is my text private?
Yes, completely. SmarterSources processes all text entirely within your browser using JavaScript. Your text is never sent to any server, stored, or shared. When you close or refresh the page, your text is gone. This makes it the most private word counter available online.
Can I use this for social media character limits?
Absolutely. Use the character count to check your text against platform limits: Twitter/X (280 characters), Instagram bio (150 characters), LinkedIn posts (3,000 characters), YouTube descriptions (5,000 characters), and meta descriptions (155-160 characters). The real-time counter makes it easy to trim your text to fit.