Essays with page limits, tweets with character caps, meta descriptions at 160 characters, essays: writing for the internet means writing to a number.
Updated August 15, 2026, after a fresh review, with updated visuals and links.
Paste your text below: words, characters (with and without spaces), sentences, paragraphs, reading time and your top keywords, all updating live as you type.
What each count is for
Character counts rule metadata: meta descriptions display fully under ~160 characters, title tags under ~60. This tool shows both raw and no-space counts because platforms count differently.
Reading time (based on 225 words per minute average adult speed) is the standard you'll see under Medium articles: a 900-word post is a 4-minute read.
The top-keywords panel shows your five most frequent meaningful words: for SEO drafts, your target phrase should appear but not dominate (1 to 2% density is the healthy zone).
Worth remembering
- Tight writing test: if adjectives and adverbs appear in the top keywords instead of your nouns, the draft needs stronger nouns, not more decoration.
- Sentence count divided into word count gives average sentence length: 15 to 20 is comfortable web reading; over 25 starts taxing readers.
Frequently asked
Do you count characters with or without spaces?
Both, because platforms disagree: Twitter/X counts everything, most SEO tools show with-spaces. Pick the column your platform uses.
What reading speed does the estimate assume?
225 words per minute, the widely cited adult average for screen reading. Technical material runs slower.
