Word Counter
Paste or type your text below — results update instantly.
Word count limits for popular platforms
Use this reference to check your text fits the platform you're writing for.
| Platform / Format | Limit | Type |
|---|---|---|
| X (Twitter) | 280 | characters |
| LinkedIn post | 3,000 | characters |
| LinkedIn article | 125,000 | characters |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 | characters |
| Facebook post | 63,206 | characters |
| YouTube description | 5,000 | characters |
| Google Ads headline | 30 | characters |
| Google Ads description | 90 | characters |
| Email subject line | 50–60 | characters (recommended) |
| University essay (undergrad) | 1,500–2,500 | words (typical) |
| University essay (postgrad) | 3,000–6,000 | words (typical) |
| Short story | 1,000–7,500 | words |
| Novelette | 7,500–17,500 | words |
| Novel | 50,000+ | words |
How reading and speaking time are calculated
Reading time uses a speed of 238 words per minute — the average silent reading speed for non-fiction found in a 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies by Marc Brysbaert (fiction averaged about 260 wpm).
Speaking time uses 130 words per minute, the typical conversational pace. Formal presentations run slightly faster (~150 wpm); audiobooks are typically 150–160 wpm. If you're preparing a speech, add 10–15% extra time for pauses, emphasis, and breathing.
What counts as a word?
Any run of characters between spaces or line breaks that contains at least one letter, number or emoji. Hyphenated words (e.g. well-being) and contractions (don't) count as one word, numbers count as one word each, and a dash or bullet on its own is not counted. Chinese, Japanese and Thai text is split into words using your browser's language rules.
What counts as a sentence?
Sentences end at full stops, exclamation marks, question marks and ellipses. Common abbreviations (Dr., Mr., e.g., p.m.), initials and decimal numbers do not end a sentence, and a final sentence without punctuation still counts.
What counts as a paragraph?
Each line or block of text that contains words counts as a paragraph — the same way text pasted from Word or Google Docs is laid out.