Free Online Word Counter — Count Words, Characters & Reading Time

Whether you are writing an essay for a competitive exam, crafting a social media post with a character limit, or checking the length of an article — knowing your word and character count is essential. Our free online word counter gives you instant, accurate counts with no sign-up required.

What Does the Word Counter Show?

Word Count

Total number of words

Characters

With and without spaces

Sentences

Total sentence count

Reading Time

Estimated read time

Word Limits for Common Platforms

Platform / Use Case	Word / Character Limit
Twitter / X post	280 characters
Instagram caption	2,200 characters
WhatsApp message	65,536 characters
UPSC Essay paper	1,000 – 1,200 words
SSC descriptive paper	200 – 250 words
LinkedIn post	3,000 characters
Google meta description	155 – 160 characters
Blog article (ideal SEO)	1,500 – 2,500 words

Exam Tip: UPSC and SSC descriptive papers have strict word limits. Going significantly over or under the limit can affect your score. Always check your word count before writing the final answer.

UPSC & SSC Exam Word Count Tips

UPSC Mains Essay & GS Answer Word Limits

Essay Paper: 1000–1200 words recommended. Examiners prefer well-structured essays over padding.
GS Answer (10 marks): 150–200 words. Do NOT exceed — it signals poor filtering of relevant content.
GS Answer (15 marks): 250–300 words with sub-headings if needed.
Do headings count? Yes — every word on the page counts including headings, bullets, and conclusions.
Do diagrams count? No — diagrams/maps are not counted in word limits.

SSC & Other Competitive Exam Writing Tips

SSC Descriptive (Letter/Essay): Usually 200–250 words. Going over by 10–15% is generally acceptable.
Word count vs quality: A 200-word answer with 3 strong points beats a 300-word answer with filler.
How to check during exam: Practice counting 10 lines of your handwriting to know your average words per line. Most people write 8–12 words per line.

Practical tip: Type your answer draft here first, check the word count, then refine before writing in your answer sheet. This saves time during practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it count Hindi or other Indian language text?

Yes. The word counter works with any language including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, and other Indian languages written in Unicode.

Is my text saved anywhere?

No. All counting happens in your browser. Your text is never sent to any server and is not stored anywhere.

How is reading time calculated?

Reading time is estimated based on an average reading speed of 200-250 words per minute, which is the typical speed for most adults.

Does word count include headings and bullet points?

Yes — every word in the text box is counted, including headings, sub-headings, and bullet point text. This matches how UPSC and SSC evaluators count — every written word on the page counts toward your word limit.

How do I count words in a typed Hindi answer?

Paste your Devanagari Hindi text directly — the tool counts each space-separated unit as one word, same as English. For mixed Hindi-English text, both are counted correctly.

Count Your Words Now — Free

Paste any text and get instant word, character and sentence count.

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Free Online Word Counter — Words, Characters, Reading Time