You are checking an essay target, application answer, form limit, social post, caption, script, translation, or publishing draft.
Character and Word Counter
Count words or characters with spaces, without spaces, or without punctuation, then compare the result with a writing target.
Start here
Choose whether the target uses words or a character-count rule.
Browser-first
Your text is counted locally in your browser and is not uploaded to a server.
Useful for
Track an essay or application word target
Common targets
Target progressWords (essay or draft)15 / 500
Remaining 4853%
Characters without spaces or punctuation79
Characters with spaces98
Characters without spaces84
CJK characters0
Words15
Lines / paragraphs1 / 1
Estimated reading time1 min
Quick answer
Count words or characters using the rule your target requires
Paste or type text, choose words or a character rule for the target, and see live progress alongside counts with spaces, without spaces, and without punctuation.
Platforms can treat spaces, punctuation, links, and combined characters differently. Use the matching metric here, then confirm the final count in the submission system.
Text Cleaner: Remove line breaks, empty lines, and extra spaces, fix wrapped paragraphs, or turn one item per line into a comma-separated list.
About this tool
Count words or characters with spaces, without spaces, or without punctuation, then compare the result with a writing target.
Your text is counted locally in your browser and is not uploaded to a server.
How to use it
- Choose whether the target uses words or a character-count rule.
- Enter a target and paste or type the draft.
- Review progress and the separate word, character, line, paragraph, and reading-time counts.
Common use cases
- Track an essay or application word target
- Check a form's character limit with or without spaces
- Measure copy without punctuation
- Review lines, paragraphs, and estimated reading time
What the Counts Mean
Different platforms limit different things. Some count characters with spaces, while others focus on words or lines.
| Metric | What it helps with | Reminder |
|---|---|---|
| Characters with spaces | Social posts, titles, metadata | Spaces and punctuation count. |
| Characters without spaces or punctuation | Rules that explicitly exclude punctuation | Letters, numbers, and symbols still count. |
| English words | Draft length and writing targets | Numbers and simple hyphenated words are counted. |
| Reading time | Quick content planning | This is only an estimate. |
Writing and Publishing Checks
Character and word counts are useful before publishing, but every platform has its own limits. Select the exact metric used by the assignment or form, enter the target, and track the remaining or excess amount while editing.
| Text type | Useful metric | Reminder |
|---|---|---|
| Title or headline | Characters with spaces | Long titles may be truncated by some platforms. |
| Essay or application answer | Words and target progress | Check whether the instruction defines a word or character limit. |
| Form answer | Characters with or without spaces | Check whether the form counts spaces. |
| Social post | Characters with spaces | Platform limits can change, so confirm before posting. |
Reading Time Estimate
Reading time is an estimate, not a rule. It is most useful for quick planning when you need to know whether a short article, post, or description feels brief or long.
For English-heavy text, word count is often the better planning metric. For mixed-language content, character count can be more stable than word count.
| Need | Metric to check | Reminder |
|---|---|---|
| SEO title or meta description | Characters with spaces | Search snippets may truncate long text. |
| Article draft | Words and reading time | Reading speed varies by reader and topic. |
| Form field | Characters with or without spaces | Check the platform's exact rule. |
FAQ
Is my text uploaded?
No. The counting runs in your browser.
Can I exclude spaces or punctuation from the character count?
Yes. Separate results show characters with spaces, without spaces, and without both spaces and punctuation.
Can the writing target use words instead of characters?
Yes. Choose words for an essay or draft, or select the character rule used by the form or platform.
How are words counted?
In supported browsers, the English interface uses locale-aware word segmentation. Treat the result as a practical draft count and check any publisher-specific rules.
Is reading time exact?
No. Reading time is an estimate and depends on the reader, language, and content difficulty.