Fast Word Count — Free Online Word Counter & Character Counter
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Word & Character Counter
Paste or type your text — word count, character count, sentences, paragraphs and reading time update live. No signup, works offline.
Words
Characters
No spaces
Sentences
Paragraphs
0min<br>Read time
Density
0%
Top words
Start typing to see word frequency.
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Online Word Counter — Fast, Accurate & Private
FastWordCount is an online word counter and character counter that updates in real time as you type or paste. Whether you're writing a blog post, an essay, a tweet, a meta description or a novel chapter — knowing your exact word count and character count helps you hit your target every time.
Everything runs in your browser. Your text is never uploaded to any server, never logged, and never stored anywhere other than your own device.
What FastWordCount measures
Word count — total words, updated live as you type
Character count — total characters including spaces
Character count without spaces — useful for platform limits and translation estimates
Sentence count — number of sentences detected in your text
Paragraph count — number of paragraphs separated by blank lines
Reading time — estimated minutes to read at average adult reading speed (238 wpm)
Word frequency — top words ranked by how often they appear, with a visual density bar
Character density — ratio of non-space characters to total characters
Who uses a word counter?
Students & academics — hit essay word limits, track dissertation chapters, stay within abstract maximums
SEO writers & bloggers — aim for 1,500–2,500 words for top-ranking blog posts, check keyword frequency
Social media managers — stay within Twitter/X (280 chars), Instagram captions, LinkedIn posts
Copywriters — keep Google Ads headlines under 30 chars, meta descriptions under 160 chars
Authors & novelists — track chapter length, monitor daily writing progress
Translators — estimate project size and cost by word or character count
Developers — check string length for database fields, UI labels, API limits
Character limits for common platforms
Google meta description — 160 characters
Google page title — 60 characters
Twitter / X post — 280 characters
Instagram caption — 2,200 characters
LinkedIn post — 3,000 characters
Facebook post — 63,206 characters
Google Ads headline — 30 characters
Google Ads description — 90 characters
YouTube title — 100 characters
YouTube description — 5,000 characters
SMS text message — 160 characters
Word count targets for SEO content
Search engines favour content that thoroughly covers a topic. Research consistently shows that top-ranking pages for competitive informational queries average between 1,500 and 2,500 words. FastWordCount helps you track your word count as you write so you can hit your target before publishing — without counting manually or switching apps.
Short blog post — 500–800 words
Standard blog post — 1,000–1,500 words
Long-form SEO article — 1,500–2,500 words
Pillar / cornerstone content — 3,000–5,000 words
Product page — 300–500 words
Landing page — 500–1,000 words
Frequently asked questions
How do I count words online for free?
Paste or type your text into the box above. FastWordCount updates your word count instantly as you type — no signup required, no character limits.
How do I count characters without spaces?
FastWordCount shows both: total characters including spaces in the "Characters" card, and total characters excluding spaces in the "No spaces" card. Both update live.
What is a good word count for an SEO blog post?
Most top-ranking blog posts for competitive keywords contain between 1,500 and 2,500 words. Pillar content and comprehensive guides often reach 3,000–5,000 words. Use FastWordCount to track your word count as you write and hit your target before publishing.
How many characters is a Google meta description?
Google displays meta descriptions up to approximately 160 characters before truncating them in search results. Page titles get cut off around 60 characters. Use the character counter to keep your snippets within these limits.
Is my text stored or uploaded anywhere?
No. All counting happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your text is never sent to any server, never logged, and never stored anywhere other than your own device's memory while the page is open.
How is reading time calculated?
Reading time is estimated at 238 words per minute, which is the widely-cited average silent reading speed for adults. A 1,000-word article will show approximately 4 minutes of reading time.
Does FastWordCount work on mobile?
Yes. FastWordCount is fully responsive and works on all devices — phones, tablets and desktops. The stats grid adapts to your...