---
title: "Word Counter: Words, Characters and Reading Time | ToolSugar"
description: "Count words, characters with and without spaces, sentences and paragraphs as you type, with reading time. Works with emoji and non-Latin text."
canonical: https://toolsugar.com/tools/word-counter
image: https://toolsugar.com/og.png
---

# Word Counter

Paste or type text and the Word Counter shows words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs and reading time as you type. It runs in your browser, so your text never leaves your device. It uses Unicode-aware segmentation, so emoji, accented letters and non-Latin scripts are counted correctly.

Runs on your device

## How it works

1. Click the Your text box and type or paste what you want to measure.
2. Read the Words, Characters, Without spaces, Sentences, Paragraphs and Reading time boxes, which update on every keystroke.
3. Edit the text until the numbers match the limit you are aiming for.
4. Press Clear text to start again with an empty box.

## Key facts

- **Runs**: In your browser, nothing is uploaded
- **Cost**: Free, with no sign-up
- **Characters**: Counted as you see them, so an emoji or a letter with an accent counts once
- **Reading time**: Based on 238 words per minute
- **Sentences**: Found with the browser's sentence rules, so unusual abbreviations can be off by one

## Common uses

- Check that an essay or article meets a minimum or maximum word count.
- Trim a blog intro or product description to a target length.
- Estimate how long a speech script or newsletter takes to read.
- Count text in Hindi, Russian, Arabic or Chinese, where counters that split on spaces fail.

## Questions

### Is the text I paste kept or uploaded?

No. The counting runs inside your browser tab. The text is not sent to a server and is gone when you close or reload the page.

### How does it count words in languages without spaces?

It uses your browser's built-in Intl.Segmenter, which knows where words end in scripts such as Chinese, Japanese and Thai. The result is a good estimate, but it can differ from a dictionary used by another program.

### Why does one emoji count as one character?

Many emoji are several code points joined together. The counter groups them into the single symbol you see, so a family emoji adds one to the character count rather than five.

### How is reading time worked out?

It divides the word count by 238 words per minute, a common average for silent reading. Technical or dense text takes longer, so treat it as a rough guide.

[Read the Word Counter guide](https://toolsugar.com/blog/how-to-count-words-in-a-text)

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