Word Counter
Word Counter counts detected word-like runs in pasted text.
Example: word counter
one two three
3 words
How to use this tool
- Paste or type the text to count.
- Run Word Counter.
- Check compound words and any external word-limit rules you must follow.
How the result is made
The tokenizer matches Unicode letters and numbers, with an optional internal straight or curly apostrophe sequence. “one two three” returns three words. Punctuation that is not part of a matched run is not counted. The result is a count, not a corrected version of the text.
When to use it
Use it for a draft length check, a writing target, or an input to Reading Time Calculator. Character Counter measures graphemes, code points, and UTF-16 units instead. Sentence Counter estimates punctuation-delimited sentences; these are different units and should not be compared as though they were interchangeable.
Details to check
Word counts vary between software because token rules differ. Hyphenated compounds can count as multiple runs, while apostrophe-containing words may stay together. Languages that do not mark words with spaces can need more specialized segmentation. Use the same counting method when a limit must be consistent.
Questions people ask
Does punctuation count as a word?
No. The tokenizer counts letter-and-number runs.
Why does another editor show a different count?
It may use different rules for hyphens, apostrophes, or scripts.
Does this estimate reading time?
Use Reading Time Calculator for a rate-based estimate.