What Counts as a Word, Sentence, or Paragraph Here
A word is any run of characters separated by whitespace — "well-known" counts as one word, "New York" counts as two. A sentence ends at a period, exclamation mark, or question mark followed by a space or line break; abbreviations like "Dr." can occasionally push the count up by one, which is normal for any automated counter, not just this one. A paragraph is any block of text separated from the next by a blank line. Characters (no spaces) strips spaces only — punctuation still counts, which matters on platforms that count it against you.
Common Length Limits, at a Glance
| Field / platform |
Limit |
Counted in |
| X (Twitter) post | 280 | Characters |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 | Characters |
| Meta description (SEO) | ~155 | Characters |
| SEO title tag | ~60 | Characters |
| LinkedIn post | 3,000 | Characters |
| Yelp review | 5,000 | Characters |
| Common App essay | 650 | Words |
| Standard cover letter | 250–400 | Words |
Limits change and vary by platform or region — treat this table as a starting point, and use the checker above for the number that matters right now.
Why Word Count and Character Count Can Tell Different Stories
A text full of short words hits a character limit faster than a word limit would suggest; a text full of long words does the opposite. Languages that don't use spaces the way English does — Chinese, Japanese, Korean — make word count a less meaningful figure altogether, since there's nothing consistent to split on. For those, the character count above is the number to go by.
Uploading a File
The upload button reads .txt, .docx (Microsoft Word), .odt (LibreOffice/OpenOffice Writer), and .rtf files directly in your browser — nothing is sent to a server. Older .doc files and Apple .pages files use formats that can't be reliably parsed client-side; if you upload one, save it as .docx first (File → Save As in Word, or just open and re-save in Google Docs or LibreOffice) or paste the text directly instead.
Common Questions
Does this count words the way Microsoft Word or Google Docs does?
Close, but not always identical — every tool draws its own line on edge cases like hyphenated words, em-dashes, or numbers with commas. For everyday writing the counts will match or come within a word or two.
Is my text uploaded or stored anywhere?
No. Counting, and file parsing, happen entirely in your browser as you type or upload. Nothing is sent to a server, logged, or saved — closing the tab clears it.
Does it work for languages without spaces, like Chinese or Japanese?
Character count stays accurate for any language. Word count relies on spaces to separate words, so for Chinese, Japanese, or Korean text the character count is the more useful number to go by.
What's the difference between "characters" and "characters without spaces"?
The first counts every keystroke including spaces; the second strips spaces only, leaving punctuation in place. Some platforms count one, some the other — check which your limit refers to.
Can I upload a Word or LibreOffice document instead of pasting?
Yes — .docx, .odt, .txt and .rtf files all work with the upload button and are read directly in your browser. Older .doc files and Apple Pages files aren't supported; save as .docx first or paste the text in.
Can I check if my text fits a specific platform's limit?
Yes — pick a preset from the "Does it fit?" checker below the counter and it flags green or over-limit against your current text as you type.
