Essay Word Counter

Word Counting

Words are counted by splitting the text on whitespace and filtering out empty tokens. Punctuation attached to words (like commas, periods, and quotes) does not affect the word count.

Character Count

Two character counts are provided: one including all characters (letters, spaces, punctuation, line breaks) and one excluding spaces. The space-excluded count is useful for character limits that ignore whitespace.

Sentence and Paragraph Detection

Sentences are detected by splitting on terminal punctuation (period, exclamation mark, or question mark) followed by whitespace or end of text. Paragraphs are counted as non-empty blocks of text separated by one or more blank lines.

Reading Time

Reading time is estimated by dividing word count by your chosen reading speed in words per minute (WPM). The default of 238 WPM reflects the average adult silent reading speed. Adjust the WPM field to match your own pace.

Progress Bar

When you enter a minimum and/or maximum word count, a progress bar tracks how close your essay is to the target. The bar turns green when the minimum is met and you are within the maximum, yellow when under the minimum, and red when you have exceeded the maximum.