How is reading time calculated?

Reading time uses 200 words per minute, which is a common average for adults reading digital text. Speaking time uses 130 wpm, which matches a typical podcast or presentation pace.

Which words are treated as stop words?

The keyword density list filters out common English stop words such as "the", "a", "an", "is", "and", "or", "but", "of", "to", and "in" so the top keywords reflect real content rather than grammar.

Does it match Microsoft Word's word count?

For plain text the counts match Microsoft Word almost exactly. Differences appear with em-dashes, unusual Unicode characters, and embedded LaTeX — for those cases check our blog post on how to count words accurately.

Is there a character or document length limit?

There is no enforced limit. Very large documents — hundreds of thousands of words — still count in milliseconds because everything runs locally.

Word Counter

Analyze word count, reading time, keyword density, and more in real time.

Words: —
Unique Words: —
Avg Word Length: —
Characters: —
Sentences: —
Paragraphs: —
Reading Time: —
Speaking Time: —

Top keywords

Start typing to see keyword density.

How to get detailed word stats with MakeMyTxt

Paste your text to get word count, reading time, speaking time, and top keywords with one click.

Open the Word Counter
Open makemytxt.com/word-counter. There is nothing to install or sign up for.
Paste your draft
Paste a blog post, essay, email, or any plain text into the input box. The tool handles up to several megabytes of text without slowing down.
Review the eight live metrics
Words, unique words, average word length, characters, sentences, paragraphs, reading time at 200 wpm, and speaking time at 130 wpm all update in real time.
Check the keyword density list
Below the stats, the top five most frequent words are shown with count and density percentage, ignoring stop words like "the", "a", and "is".

Frequently asked questions

How is reading time calculated?: Reading time uses 200 words per minute, which is a common average for adults reading digital text. Speaking time uses 130 wpm, which matches a typical podcast or presentation pace.
Which words are treated as stop words?: The keyword density list filters out common English stop words such as "the", "a", "an", "is", "and", "or", "but", "of", "to", and "in" so the top keywords reflect real content rather than grammar.
Does it match Microsoft Word's word count?: For plain text the counts match Microsoft Word almost exactly. Differences appear with em-dashes, unusual Unicode characters, and embedded LaTeX — for those cases check our blog post on how to count words accurately.
Is there a character or document length limit?: There is no enforced limit. Very large documents — hundreds of thousands of words — still count in milliseconds because everything runs locally.

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