How does word counting work?

Words are counted by splitting the text on whitespace and filtering out empty tokens — the same method used by most word processors.

Are characters counted with or without spaces?

Both. The tool shows character count including spaces and character count excluding spaces so you can match whichever limit applies (e.g., Twitter uses characters including spaces).

What reading speed is used for reading time?

The tool uses 238 words per minute, which is the median adult silent reading speed from a 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies published in Psychological Bulletin.

Is my content stored or sent anywhere?

No. All analysis happens entirely in your browser. Nothing is ever sent to a server.

What word count do I need for SEO?

It depends on content type. Blog posts often benefit from 1,500–2,500 words for competitive topics. Product pages typically need 300–500 words. News articles can rank with 400–600 words. The benchmark panel gives you a quick reference.

Does this count HTML tags?

No. The tool strips HTML tags before counting, so pasting content directly from a CMS or email editor gives accurate plain-text counts.

Word Count for SEO

Paste any text to instantly count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs — with SEO content-length benchmarks.

Paste or type your content

HTML tags are stripped automatically before counting.

Content Statistics

Words

Characters (with spaces)

Characters (no spaces)

Sentences

Paragraphs

0 min

Reading time

SEO Content-Length Benchmarks

Your word count vs. common SEO targets.

Summary

Word Count for SEO analyzes pasted text and reports word count, character count (with and without spaces), sentence count, paragraph count, and average reading time. It compares your content length against common SEO benchmarks so you know at a glance whether your article, product page, or landing page meets recommended length targets.

How it works

Paste or type your content into the text area.
The tool counts words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs in real time.
Estimated reading time is calculated at 238 words per minute.
A benchmark panel shows how your word count compares to common SEO content types.
Use the Clear button to reset and analyze new content.

Use cases

Check whether a blog post meets the 1,500+ word threshold for in-depth SEO content.
Verify that a product description stays within 150–300 words.
Ensure a meta description draft is under 160 characters before copying it.
Measure landing page copy length before publishing.
Audit existing content to identify thin pages that need expansion.
Compare draft versions of an article to track length changes.
Confirm that a how-to guide is long enough to rank for competitive queries.
Monitor writing progress toward a target word count.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-06-11 · Reviewed by Nham Vu