Writing Calculators

Counting characters or counting words

Which unit you need is usually decided for you by wherever the text is going. Social platforms and form fields cap characters, so the character counter is the one that matters there, and whether spaces count is the detail that catches people out. Essays, articles and briefs are set in words. Reading time is a different measure again, an estimate derived from word count at an assumed reading speed rather than something counted directly.

Word Counter

for words, characters, sentences and paragraphs from one paste.

Character Counter

for with and without spaces, for hard platform limits.

Words to Minutes Calculator

for speaking time from a script, at a rate you can set.

Where these calculations go wrong

Assuming every platform counts the same way

Character limits differ on whether spaces, line breaks and emoji count, and some platforms count a link as a fixed length whatever its actual characters. A count that passes in one editor can fail in another, so the counter shows both the with-spaces and without-spaces figures.

Related sections

• Education for the essay and coursework side, where a word count usually has a grade attached.