Category · 4 tools
Free text tools for writing and editing
Text tools are the quiet workhorses of the internet: a word count for an essay limit, a character count for a social post, a quick sanity check before pasting something into a form. They should be instant and they should stay private.
These tools run entirely in your browser as you type. Nothing is uploaded, no account is needed, and the character, word, sentence and reading-time numbers update live. That makes them safe for drafts, client copy and anything under embargo.
In this category
Count and check words as you write
Why word counts still matter
Word and character counts are gatekeepers: application essays, university assignments, grant forms, meta descriptions and social posts all have hard limits. Counting by hand is error-prone, and different tools treat hyphenated words, numbers and punctuation differently. The counter on this site uses whitespace-delimited words, counts characters with and without spaces, and estimates reading and speaking time from typical adult rates.
Everything is calculated in the browser as you type, so drafts never leave your device. That matters for unpublished material, client copy and anything under embargo — the same reason many writers keep a counter tab open while working.
- A 650-word university statement
- Paste the draft and watch the count update live; use reading time to check pace.
- A 150-character social caption
- Character count with spaces is the number most platforms actually enforce.
- Estimating a speech
- Speaking time at 130–150 words per minute is a safer planning number than reading speed.
Guides for Text Tools
All guidesThe format background, trade-offs and failure modes behind these tools — written for people who want to know why a conversion works the way it does.