About the Word Counter
Sometimes you just need a number: how long is this scene, this blog post, this newsletter or this back-cover blurb? Paste your text and you instantly get the word count, along with characters, sentences, paragraphs and an estimated reading time.
The Most used words table lists the ten words you use most often. With Ignore common words switched on, everyday words like "the" and "was" are skipped, so pet words and accidental repetition stand out. Spotting that a character "glances" eleven times in one chapter is much easier here than on a printed page.
Your text never leaves your browser and is not saved. For book-length planning, such as turning a word count into pages or comparing it with genre norms, use the Word Count Calculator. For readability checks, try the Sentence Counter.
How It Works
A word is a run of letters or numbers. Contractions such as "don't" and hyphenated words such as "well-known" count as one word.
Sentences end at full stops, question marks, exclamation marks and ellipses followed by a new sentence. Each line break starts a new paragraph.
Reading time assumes an average adult silent reading speed of 238 words per minute.
Word frequency counts every word in lower case, optionally skipping a list of very common English words and single letters.
Example
Counting the built-in sample passage
- Press Try sample text to load a four-paragraph passage.
- Words: 131. Characters: 737. Sentences: 7. Paragraphs: 4.
- Reading time: under 1 minute at 238 words per minute.
- With common words ignored, the top words are "about", "line" and "write", each used twice.
- With common words included, "the" leads with 10 uses.
The passage is 131 words long, and the frequency table shows no content word used more than twice.
Important Notes
- Word counts can differ slightly from Microsoft Word or Google Docs, which treat some symbols and dashes differently.
- Abbreviations such as "Dr. Smith" can be counted as two sentences.
- The common-word list is English only. Other languages are counted, but no words are skipped for them.
- Text stays in your browser and is cleared when you leave the page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my text uploaded anywhere?
No. Counting happens entirely in your browser, and the text is not stored or sent to any server.
Why is my count different from Word or Google Docs?
Each program draws word boundaries slightly differently, especially around dashes, slashes, numbers and symbols. Differences are usually well under 1%.
How do I find overused words in my manuscript?
Paste a chapter at a time and keep Ignore common words switched on. Words near the top that are not character names or key terms are good candidates for variation.
Can it handle a whole novel?
Yes, a full manuscript can be pasted. Very long texts may take a moment to update after each change.
How is this different from the Word Count Calculator?
This tool counts text you paste. The [Word Count Calculator](/tools/word-count-calculator) works with numbers, converting word counts to pages and comparing them with typical book lengths.
Related KDP Tools
- Word Count CalculatorCount words, characters, sentences and paragraphs, with page and reading-time estimates.
- Character CounterCount characters with and without spaces, plus bytes and limits.
- Sentence CounterCount sentences and see average and longest sentence length.
- Paragraph CounterCount paragraphs and see average and longest paragraph length.
- Book Deadline CalculatorWork out daily word targets or your finish date from your writing pace.
- Percentage CalculatorPercent of a number, percentage change and what-percent-of calculations.