Useful for applications
Check word and character limits for resumes, cover letters, essays, and forms.
EVERYDAY TOOLS
Free word and character counter.
Check your writing as you edit.
Use this free word and character counter online for essays, resumes, applications, captions, and everyday writing. Your text stays in your browser.
Word & character counter
Paste or type your text below. Counts update instantly as you write.
0Words
0Characters
0Characters without spaces
0Sentences
0Paragraphs
Estimated reading time: 0 seconds
Reading time estimate
Uses an average reading speed of 200 words per minute.
Private by design
Your writing is not uploaded or saved to a TURUBA account.
Word counter questions
How are words counted?
Words use language-aware segmentation where supported, with a whitespace-based fallback in older browsers.
Does this count characters with spaces?
Yes. The tool shows both total characters and characters without spaces.
Is my text uploaded?
No. Counting, copying, and downloading happen locally in your browser.
PRACTICAL NOTES
Know what the numbers include
How to approach it
Paste your text to update counts as you type. Words use the browser’s language-aware word segmentation where available, with a whitespace fallback on older browsers. Characters count Unicode code points; a joined emoji or accented sequence can contain more than one.
A concrete example
“Hello world!” has 2 words and 12 characters, including the space and punctuation. A blank line separates paragraphs. Reading time uses 200 words per minute, so 400 words gives an estimate of two minutes.
Before you use the result
Sentence counts are approximate: abbreviations, decimals and unusual punctuation can affect them. Different applications may count words or characters differently. Use the target platform’s own counter for a strict submission limit. Text remains in this page until you copy or download it.
Updated 4 November 2026 · TURUBA Tools
Free Word Counter questions
Why can a submission form show a different word count?
Counters can split punctuation, hyphenated words and Unicode sequences differently. For a strict limit, use the receiving platform’s own counter as the final check.
EDIT WITH THE COUNTS
Use the numbers to improve the draft
Word count is most helpful when you compare it with a specific requirement. For a short application answer, read the prompt first and decide which details must survive if you need to cut. For a longer article, a rising word count may show progress, but it says little about clarity. Paste or type the text, then look at the word, character, sentence and paragraph counts together. If a paragraph is much longer than the others, it may be carrying more than one idea. Split or trim it before changing individual words.
Understand counting differences
Different programs may split hyphenated words, apostrophes, numbers and emoji differently. This tool uses language-aware word segmentation when the browser provides it and falls back to whitespace rules otherwise. Characters count Unicode code points, so an emoji made from several parts can count as more than one character even when it looks like a single symbol. Sentence detection is an estimate; an abbreviation such as "Dr." or a decimal can change the result. Treat a submission portal's own counter as final when its limit is strict.
Use reading time as a planning clue
The displayed reading time is based on a fixed pace of 200 words per minute. It is useful for deciding whether a script or article is roughly the length you intended, but a technical explanation, list of figures or spoken presentation may take longer. Try reading the text aloud and timing it if the audience will hear it. For a social post, the first sentence may matter more than total reading time. For a resume bullet, precision matters more than reaching a certain count.
Make one editing pass at a time
First remove repetition, then check structure, then proofread. If you edit only to reach a number, the writing can become harder to read. Look for sentences that repeat the same point, vague qualifiers and introductions that delay the answer. Keep the text's meaning when shortening it. Copy or download the revised text before closing the tab; the counter is an editing surface, not a document storage service. If you are working with confidential material, check your own organisation's rules before pasting it into any browser tool.
For a character-limited field, count the exact version you will submit, including spaces and punctuation, and leave a small margin if the receiving form counts differently. For an essay, compare paragraph count with the structure you planned rather than forcing every paragraph to be the same length. For a script, separate stage directions from spoken lines when estimating speaking time. The counter helps you spot a mismatch; you still decide what to keep, rewrite or remove. After pasting the final version into its destination, check the receiving form once more because line breaks and special characters can be handled differently there.
When comparing two versions, save each draft outside the counter before replacing the text. A lower word count is not automatically an improvement if it removes the explanation a reader needs. Read the shorter version once without looking at the number, then ask whether it still answers the prompt. This check matters more than reaching an arbitrary target.