Count Words and Characters Online — Instantly and Free
Paste or type your text to count words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and reading time in real time. 100% private — everything runs in your browser.
How it works
Paste your text
Type directly, paste from anywhere, or drag and drop a .txt file into the box.
See live counts
Word count, character count, sentences, paragraphs and reading time update instantly as you type.
Copy or clear
Copy your text back out or clear the box and start again. Nothing is ever uploaded.
The fast, private way to count words and characters online
This free word counter gives you an instant, accurate count of every word and character in your text. Whether you are writing an essay, a blog post, a meta description, a tweet, a college application, or ad copy with a strict character limit, our online character counter shows you exactly where you stand in real time. There is no Count button to press and no page reload — the numbers update the moment you type or paste.
Alongside the core word count and character count, the tool breaks your writing down into sentences and paragraphs, and estimates both reading time and speaking time. That makes it easy to hit a target length, trim a paragraph to fit, or check that a speech runs to the right number of minutes. Reading time is based on roughly 200 words per minute and speaking time on roughly 130 words per minute, the averages most editors and presenters use.
Because everything happens locally in your browser, this is a genuinely private tool. Your text is never uploaded to a server, never stored, and never seen by anyone but you — ideal for confidential drafts, client work, or anything you would rather not paste into a random website. It is free, needs no signup, adds no watermark, and works on phones, tablets and desktops alike. You can even drag and drop a plain-text file to count an entire document at once.
People reach for a word and character counter for all kinds of reasons: meeting an essay word count, keeping an SEO title under 60 characters and a meta description under 155, staying inside a social media character limit, charging by the word for translation or copywriting, or simply tracking daily writing progress. Whatever your goal, this counter handles it in one clean, distraction-free page.
Looking for a free alternative to WordCounter.net or Character Count Online? This tool covers the same everyday counting needs with a faster, ad-light, fully in-browser experience. FixItWhy is not affiliated with WordCounter.net or Character Count Online.
Why use this word counter
Real-time counting
Words, characters and more update live as you type — no button, no waiting.
Totally private
Runs 100% in your browser. Your text never leaves your device.
More than words
Sentences, paragraphs, reading time and speaking time, all at a glance.
Works everywhere
Responsive design for mobile, tablet and desktop. No app to install.
How we compare
| Feature | FixItWhy Word Counter | Typical online counters |
|---|---|---|
| Runs entirely in your browser | Yes | Often server-side |
| Signup required | No | Sometimes |
| Reading & speaking time | Yes | Varies |
| Drag & drop a text file | Yes | Sometimes |
| Price | Free | Free / freemium |
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The word counter is completely free, with no signup, no limits and no watermark. You can use it as often as you like.
Completely. All counting happens locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your text is never uploaded, stored or sent anywhere.
Words are counted by splitting your text on spaces and line breaks, so any run of non-space characters separated by whitespace counts as one word — the same method used by most word processors.
Yes. The tool shows total characters including spaces as well as characters excluding spaces, which is handy for strict character limits.
Yes. Click Upload .txt or drag and drop a plain-text file into the box and the entire document is counted instantly.
All tools run privately in your browser — free, no signup, no watermark.