Essay Word Counter
Paste or type your essay to see word count, character count, reading time and more — updated live as you write.
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Frequently asked questions
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time is estimated at 200 words per minute, a commonly used average adult silent reading speed. See our guide on reading time vs speaking time for more detail.
Why does my sentence count seem off?
Sentence counting is estimated by detecting periods, question marks and exclamation points — abbreviations (like "Dr." or "e.g.") can occasionally cause small miscounts, a known limitation of simple text-based sentence detection.
Is my essay text stored or uploaded anywhere?
No. All counting happens locally in your browser as you type. Nothing is sent to or stored on our servers.
What's a typical word count for common essay lengths?
See our guide on how many words is a 5-page essay for typical page-to-word-count conversions.
Does this count works cited pages or footnotes?
The counter counts everything in the text box, so if you paste your full document including a works cited page, that will be included in the total. Paste only the body text for an accurate essay-only count.