Word & Character Counter

What is a word counter?

A word counter analyses a block of text and reports key statistics: word count, character count (with and without spaces), line count, and sentence count. These metrics are used across writing, content marketing, SEO, software development, and academic work. This tool updates all statistics in real time as you type or paste — no button click needed.

Character limits on major platforms

Every major platform has content length limits that affect how you write and edit:

• X (Twitter): 280 characters per post; URLs count as 23 characters regardless of actual length
• LinkedIn posts: 3,000 characters for personal posts; 700 characters before the "see more" truncation
• LinkedIn articles: 125,000 characters (effectively unlimited)
• Meta description (SEO): 150–160 characters — longer descriptions are truncated in Google search results
• Page title (SEO): 50–60 characters recommended to avoid truncation in search results
• Email subject line: 40–60 characters for optimal mobile display
• SMS messages: 160 characters per segment in standard GSM encoding; 153 characters per segment in multi-part messages

Reading time calculation

Average adult reading speed is approximately 200–250 words per minute for general content, and 150–200 words per minute for technical content. A 1,000-word blog post takes the average reader about 4–5 minutes. This matters for content strategy: studies consistently show that articles of 1,500–2,500 words receive more backlinks, rank better in search engines, and have higher engagement than shorter pieces, while articles over 4,000 words see diminishing returns in most topics unless they serve as definitive reference guides.

Word count targets for different content types

• Tweet / social post: under 280 characters (roughly 40–50 words)
• Email: 50–200 words for transactional; 200–500 words for newsletters
• Blog post (basic): 600–1,000 words — enough for a focused topic
• Blog post (SEO-optimised): 1,500–2,500 words for competitive keywords
• Long-form guide: 3,000–5,000 words for comprehensive reference content
• Academic essay (undergraduate): 1,500–3,000 words typically
• README file: 200–800 words — clear and concise documentation

How to use this tool

1. Type or paste your text into the input area.
2. Statistics update live — no button click needed.
3. Check the Characters count for platform limits, Words for content targets, and Lines for code or structured content.
4. Click Clear to start with fresh text.