Frequently asked questions
Answers about how our word and character counters work, what they count and what happens to your text.
Frequently asked questions
How does the word and character counter work?
It counts your text in your browser as you type or paste. Words are runs of letters or numbers between spaces, and characters are counted the way you see them, so an emoji with a skin tone counts once.
Is the text I enter saved anywhere?
No. Your text, PDFs and images are processed in your browser and never sent to our server. Closing or refreshing the page clears them.
What counts as a word?
A run of letters or numbers separated by spaces. Hyphenated words and contractions count as one word. Each Chinese or Japanese character counts as one word in the main counter; the Chinese Words Counter splits Chinese into real words.
Does the character count include spaces?
Yes. The main Characters total includes spaces and punctuation. “Characters without spaces” is shown separately.
Can I use the tools for any language?
Yes. Every tool counts characters correctly in any script. There are dedicated counters for Chinese, Japanese and Hindi.
Is there a limit to how much text I can count?
No fixed limit. Very long texts, such as whole books, still count in a second or two on most devices.
Do the tools work on phones?
Yes. Every page works on phones and tablets, including PDF and picture word counting.
Are the tools free?
Yes. Every tool is free and needs no sign-up.
How do you keep platform limits up to date?
We check each platform’s limits against its official help pages and current references, and every tool page shows when its limits were last checked. If you spot a change, please let us know.
Why does my count differ from Microsoft Word or Google Docs?
Tools treat edge cases differently, such as dashes, numbers with decimals and emoji. Our rules are listed on the home page.