Count all words or focus on other words
Count all words is the default. Articles, prepositions and other small words are included: the, as, of, a and to each count. Ignore common English words uses a fixed, case-insensitive English list to exclude frequent words. The full total and excluded count remain visible, so you can see the difference. The filter changes the count without changing your text.
For an essay, an application or a stated word limit, use Count all words unless the instructions specify another method. The common English word filter can help you inspect repeated terms, but it does not measure meaning or importance and it does not filter common words in other languages.
Choose how word boundaries are handled
The recommended Word boundaries method uses your browser's text segmentation to handle letters, numbers and words in multiple languages. Don't counts as one word; state-of-the-art counts as four. Emoji and standalone punctuation do not count as words. Numbers such as 2026 or 3.14 count once by default; you can turn them off in Counting options & rules.
Space-separated groups is an alternative for rules that count each group between spaces, tabs or line breaks once. State-of-the-art counts as one group in this mode. A group must contain a letter or number to count, so emoji-only and punctuation-only groups are still excluded. Different word processors and websites can use different rules; an exact match with another service is not guaranteed.
Current browsers support language-aware word boundaries. Older browsers use a simpler Unicode fallback, which may group text in languages written without spaces together. Sentence counts are estimates, and abbreviations or unusual punctuation may affect them. Paragraphs are nonempty blocks separated by blank lines.
Characters, timing and repeated words
On current browsers, Characters counts visible character groups, including spaces, tabs and line breaks. A combined emoji or a letter with an accent counts as one group. Without whitespace excludes spaces, tabs and line breaks. The browser string length is also shown in UTF-16 units, a different measure that some websites use. Older browsers count Unicode code points instead of combined character groups.
Reading time uses the full word total at an assumed 200 words per minute; speaking time uses 130. These are rough planning estimates. Your language, pace and pauses will affect the actual duration. Common-word and number exclusions do not shorten these estimates. At the speaking assumption, a 650-word draft takes about 5 minutes, before additional pauses.
Open Word frequency to see the ten most frequent words under your selected settings. Letter case is ignored, but different word forms are counted separately. Copy your text or statistics, download a plain text file, or clear the editor when you are finished. Counting and file creation happen on your device.
Frequently asked questions
›Does this counter include the, as and of?
Yes. Count all words includes the, as, of and other small words by default. They are excluded only when you choose Ignore common English words. The full total and the excluded amount are always shown.
›Which words does Ignore common English words exclude?
It uses a fixed built-in English list with frequent words such as a, an, the, and, as, of, to, is and in. Matching ignores letter case and treats straight and curly apostrophes alike. It does not remove text, judge whether a word is useful, or filter common words from other languages.
›How are hyphenated words, contractions and numbers counted?
With Word boundaries, don't counts as one word and state-of-the-art as four. With Space-separated groups, each counts as one group. Numbers count by default, and the checkbox in Counting options & rules can exclude them. Text containing letters, such as B12, still counts as a word. Emoji and standalone punctuation do not count as words in either method.
›Will this exactly match Microsoft Word or Google Docs?
Not always. Different tools may treat hyphens, punctuation, URLs, numbers and languages differently. Choose the method closest to your assignment or destination, and use its own counter for the final check if an exact limit matters.
›Do characters include spaces and emoji?
Characters includes whitespace, punctuation and emoji. On current browsers, combined emoji and accented letters count as one visible character group. Without whitespace excludes spaces, tabs and line breaks. UTF-16 string length is shown separately because some sites use it. Older browsers use Unicode code points for the character cards.
›How are reading and speaking time calculated?
The full total is divided by an assumed 200 words per minute for reading or 130 for speaking. Empty text shows 0 seconds. Both estimates include words and numbers that you exclude from the main count, since they still take time to read. Your language, pace and pauses will affect the actual time.
›Is my text stored or sent anywhere?
The tool processes text in your browser and does not upload it or save it to a server. Copying puts your chosen text or statistics on your device's clipboard; downloading saves a plain text file on your device. The tool does not save drafts between page visits.