How this works in your browser
Counting happens on every keystroke in your browser. Words are found by splitting on whitespace and discarding empty results, which is why a hyphenated compound counts once: there is no space inside it to split on. Sentences are detected from terminating punctuation and paragraphs from blank-line breaks. These are deliberate conventions rather than universal truths, and different software makes different choices, which is the honest explanation for small discrepancies between tools. The more consequential property is that your text never leaves the page: no request is made at any point, so pasting an unpublished draft or a confidential document into the box does not transmit it anywhere.
Who uses Word Counter
Essays and assignments
Track progress against a word limit while writing rather than after.
Social posts and captions
Check a draft against a platform’s character cap before posting.
Client and freelance work
Confirm a piece meets a commissioned length without uploading it anywhere.
Meta descriptions and titles
Keep SEO fields inside the lengths search results display.
Frequently asked questions
Does this count words as I type?
Yes, all counts update live as you type or paste text in.
Is my text stored or sent anywhere?
No, the counting happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Nothing you type is transmitted or saved.
Does it count hyphenated words as one word or two?
Hyphenated words like "well-known" are counted as a single word.
Why does my count differ slightly from Word?
Because every tool draws the boundaries a little differently. Hyphenated compounds, numbers, standalone symbols and text inside brackets are all edge cases where reasonable implementations disagree. For a limit with any margin in it the difference is irrelevant; for a hard cap, check in whatever tool the person marking it will use.
Which count do character limits actually use?
Almost always characters including spaces, since a space occupies a slot in a message or a field like any other character. Both figures are shown because the excluding-spaces number is the one commonly used for typesetting and some academic requirements.
Is anything I paste here retained?
No, and this is worth stating plainly because people paste unpublished manuscripts, cover letters and client work into word counters. The counting runs in your browser tab, nothing is transmitted, and nothing survives closing the page.
How many words is a page?
Roughly 250 double-spaced or 500 single-spaced in a standard 12-point font, which is the convention most academic guidance uses. If a requirement is given in pages, ask what spacing and font are expected, since those two choices change the answer by a factor of two.