How is reading time calculated?

At about 200 words a minute, which is average for an adult reading prose on a screen. Dense or technical writing runs slower.

Does it count characters with or without spaces?

Both are shown. Social platforms and form limits usually mean with spaces.

How is reading time worked out?

At 238 words a minute for silent reading and 140 for speaking aloud — the figures used in readability research, and the reason the two estimates differ.

Does it count characters with or without spaces?

Both. The toggle switches between them, because application forms and character limits disagree about which they mean.

Word Counter

Words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and reading time, live as you type.

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How to use Word Counter

Paste or type your text.
Counts update live as you write.
Read words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and estimated reading time.

How long it takes to read, and to say

At 238 words a minute silently and 140 aloud — the figures from readability research.

Words	Reading time	Spoken aloud
100	25 seconds	43 seconds
250	1 minute	1 min 47 s
500	2 minutes	3 min 34 s
1,000	4 minutes	7 minutes
2,000	8 minutes	14 minutes
5,000	21 minutes	36 minutes

What the usual limits are

Where	Typical length
Tweet / X post	280 characters
Meta description	155 characters
LinkedIn headline	220 characters
UCAS personal statement	4,000 characters
Motivation letter	400–600 words
Blog post that ranks	1,000–2,000 words
Undergraduate essay	1,500–3,000 words

Questions

How is reading time calculated?: At about 200 words a minute, which is average for an adult reading prose on a screen. Dense or technical writing runs slower.
Does it count characters with or without spaces?: Both are shown. Social platforms and form limits usually mean with spaces.
How is reading time worked out?: At 238 words a minute for silent reading and 140 for speaking aloud — the figures used in readability research, and the reason the two estimates differ.
Does it count characters with or without spaces?: Both. The toggle switches between them, because application forms and character limits disagree about which they mean.