Free Online Word Counter — Character, Sentence, Reading Time

Features

Live word and character counts (with and without spaces)
Sentence and paragraph counts
Reading time estimate (based on 200 WPM)
Speaking time estimate (based on 130 WPM)
Works in any language with whitespace-separated words
Character counts work for CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
Ad-free, tracker-free

How it works

Open freewordcounter.app
Type or paste text into the input area
See live counts update as you type
Copy the cleaned text if needed

Common use cases

Essay writing with strict word limits
Blog posts targeting a specific length
Tweet or LinkedIn post drafts within character limits
Academic paper word count verification
Reading time estimation for content planning

How it compares

WordCounter.net is the most common result but ads and trackers are heavy. Freewordcounter has neither. Microsoft Word and Google Docs have built-in word counts but opening them requires more setup. For quick counts on pasted text, Freewordcounter is fastest.

Privacy

Text is processed in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Frequently asked questions

Is Freewordcounter free and ad-free?

Yes. 100% free with no ads, no trackers, no signup.

Does it work in languages other than English?

Yes. Any language with space-separated words works for word counts. Character counts work for all languages including CJK.

What reading speed does it use?

Default 200 words per minute for reading time, 130 WPM for speaking time. These are industry-standard averages.

Is my text sent anywhere?

No. Everything happens in your browser.

Can I count words in a specific selection?

Select text within the input area and the count updates to reflect the selection.

Does it handle pasted rich text?

Yes. Pasted formatted text has formatting stripped for accurate counting.

Free Online Word Counter — live word and character counts