Word & Character Counter

Complete Guide to Word and Character Counting

Whether you're a student writing an essay, a marketer crafting social media posts, or a content creator optimizing for SEO, knowing your word and character count is essential. Our free tool provides instant, accurate counting with additional metrics like reading time and sentence count.

Character Limits for Social Media Platforms

Each social media platform has different character limits. Exceeding these limits can truncate your message or prevent posting. Here's a comprehensive guide:

Word Count Requirements for Academic Writing

Academic assignments typically have strict word count requirements. Meeting these requirements is crucial for grades. Here's a guide to common academic writing lengths:

Understanding Reading Speed

Reading speed varies significantly based on the reader, content complexity, and reading purpose. Here's how different reading speeds compare:

SEO Content Length Guidelines

Frequently Asked Questions

How many words is a 5-minute read?

At an average reading speed of 200 words per minute, a 5-minute read contains approximately 1,000 words. For casual reading of simpler content, readers might cover 1,250 words in 5 minutes (250 WPM). Use our word counter to see the exact reading time for your content.

How are words counted?

Words are counted by splitting text on whitespace (spaces, tabs, line breaks). Each distinct chunk of text separated by whitespace counts as one word. Numbers, abbreviations, and hyphenated words (like "self-driving") typically count as single words.

What's the difference between characters with and without spaces?

Characters with spaces count every character including spaces, punctuation, and line breaks. Characters without spaces exclude all whitespace. Social media platforms typically count all characters including spaces.

How long should a LinkedIn post be?

LinkedIn allows up to 3,000 characters, but research shows posts under 1,300 characters (about 200 words) perform best for engagement. The "see more" truncation happens around 210 characters, so make your first few lines compelling.

What's the ideal length for a tweet?

Twitter/X allows 280 characters, but studies show tweets between 71-100 characters get the highest engagement. Shorter tweets are easier to read and retweet. Leave room for others to quote-tweet with their commentary.

How many pages is 1,000 words?

1,000 words is approximately 2 pages single-spaced or 4 pages double-spaced when using standard 12-point font (Times New Roman or Arial) with 1-inch margins. Academic essays are typically required in double-spaced format.

Why is my character count different from other tools?

Character counting methods can vary. Some tools count special characters or emojis differently. Unicode emojis may count as 2 characters in some systems. Our tool uses standard JavaScript character counting which matches most social media platform counters.

How many words should a cover letter be?

A cover letter should be between 250-400 words, fitting on one page. This allows you to introduce yourself, highlight relevant experience, and express interest without overwhelming the reader. Keep paragraphs short and focused.

What is the optimal blog post length for SEO?

For SEO, longer content typically ranks better. Studies from Backlinko and HubSpot suggest 1,500-2,500 words is optimal for most topics. However, quality matters more than length. Cover the topic thoroughly without unnecessary padding.

How do I count words in a specific language?

Our word counter works with any language that uses spaces between words, including English, Hindi, Spanish, French, German, and more. For languages like Chinese, Japanese, or Thai that don't use spaces, character count is more relevant than word count.