The ChrysoKit Word Counter shows words, characters, sentences and paragraphs as you type, with estimated reading and speaking times next to the headline counts.
Why use it
Word and character limits matter for everything from blog excerpts to social posts to academic essays. A live counter removes the need to stop, copy out, paste back.
How to use the Word Counter
- Paste or type your text.
- Watch the counts update live.
- Read the estimated reading and speaking times next to the counts.
- Use the most-frequent words list to spot overused phrases.
Features worth knowing
Live counts
Words, characters, sentences and paragraphs update on every keystroke.
Reading and speaking time
Reading time assumes about 225 words per minute (average adult). Speaking time assumes about 130 words per minute. Both are sensible defaults for prose; dense technical material reads slower.
Most-frequent words
A small breakdown of the words you use most often. A quick way to spot a phrase you have over-relied on.
Pro tips
- 225 wpm is a fair estimate for non-technical prose. Dense technical material will read closer to 150; light copy can hit 250 or more.
- Sentence count is a quick readability indicator. If your average words-per-sentence is over 25, you probably want to split some up.
- The most-frequent words list quickly reveals overused phrases. Cut them out and the writing tightens.
Privacy first. The Word Counter runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you paste is uploaded.
Use the Word Counter for blog drafts, social posts, abstracts and academic writing. It is one of those small tools you stop noticing because it is just always there.
Open the tool: Word Counter →
A working session: trimming a 1,200-word draft to a 900-word brief
Here is the counter in a real editing pass. The brief says 900 words; the draft says 1,212. Rather than cutting blindly, watch what the numbers reveal. First pass: delete every hedge ("quite", "rather", "it should be noted that") and watch the count drop about 4% with zero meaning lost. Second pass: the sentence counter shows 41 sentences, averaging almost 30 words each... so split the worst offenders and merge two limping fragments, and readability improves while the count barely moves. Third pass: the frequent-words list shows "solution" appearing eleven times; replacing seven of them forces more precise verbs into the text.
The draft lands at 904 words, and the interesting part is that nothing essential left the page. Nearly every document carries a 20-25% reduction inside it that pure deletion can claim. Editors know this instinctively; a live counter just turns the instinct into a measurable loop: cut, glance, repeat.
Try the same drill on your next piece: set a target 25% under your draft length and only allow deletions, never rewrites, until you reach it. It is the single fastest way to learn what your own filler words are... and once you know them, you stop typing them in the first place.