Assignments say “1,500 words maximum”, scholarship forms want a 250-word personal statement, and SMS messages and social media posts have character limits. Going over can cost you marks, or cut your message off halfway. Here’s how to count quickly, what the common limits are, and how to trim text without losing your point.
How to count words and characters
- Open the Word Counter.
- Type or paste your text into the box.
- Read the counts, which update as you type: words, characters, characters without spaces, sentences, paragraphs and reading time.
- Need to fix capital letters? Use the buttons to change the text to UPPERCASE, lowercase, Title Case or Sentence case, then copy it.
Common limits to know
| Where | Limit |
|---|---|
| SMS in English | 160 characters per message |
| SMS in Sinhala or Tamil, or with emoji | 70 characters per message |
| X (Twitter) post | 280 characters |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 characters |
| YouTube video title | 100 characters |
| Title shown in Google results | About 60 characters before it’s cut off |
Longer SMS messages are split into parts, and each part is shorter (153 characters in English, 67 in Unicode). That’s why a Sinhala SMS can quietly cost two or three messages.
What counts as a word?
Any group of characters between spaces or line breaks counts as one word, so “e-mail”, “2026” and “Rs.” are one word each. Microsoft Word and Google Docs may count slightly differently for things like dashes and web addresses, so if your limit is strict, leave a small margin of 10–20 words.
For Sinhala and Tamil, words are counted by spaces too, so the word count is accurate. The character count may be higher than the letters you see, because vowel signs are counted as separate characters. SMS limits count them the same way.
How to cut words without losing meaning
- Remove filler: “very”, “really”, “basically”, “actually” rarely add anything.
- Shorten phrases: “in order to” → “to”, “due to the fact that” → “because”, “at this point in time” → “now”.
- Cut repeated ideas. Say each point once, in the best place.
- Use active sentences: “The committee approved the plan” is shorter than “The plan was approved by the committee”.
Writing a speech?
The reading time assumes 200 words per minute, the speed of silent reading. People speak more slowly, about 130–150 words a minute, so a five-minute speech is roughly 650–750 words.
Common questions
Is my text saved or sent anywhere?
No. The Word Counter works inside your browser. Your text is never uploaded or stored.
Do word limits include the title and references?
It depends on the institution. Many assignments exclude the title, references and appendices, but check your instructions.
Does it count characters with and without spaces?
Yes. You see both, because some forms and social media limits count spaces and others don't.
Can I change text to capital letters?
Yes. Use the UPPERCASE, lowercase, Title Case and Sentence case buttons, then copy the result.