Free online character counter, word counter, and token counter
iLostCount is a plain text box that keeps a running count of everything above it. Paste a draft, a prompt, or a bio into the canvas at the top of this page and the characters, words, and AI tokens update as you type. There is no button to press, no upload, and no account. The counting runs inside your browser, so your text never leaves your device.
What it counts
- Characters
- Every letter, digit, space, and punctuation mark, ignoring blank space at the very start and end. Useful for the hard limits on social posts, meta descriptions, SMS messages, and application forms. A raw character count that keeps outer whitespace is available in the filter menu.
- Words
- Runs of text separated by whitespace, counted the way an essay, article, or word limit expects.
- Lines and paragraphs
- How many lines your text occupies and how many blocks it is split into, handy for formatting checks and for anything with a per line limit.
- Tokens
- An estimate of how many tokens an AI model such as Claude or GPT would read your text as. Plain English runs at about four characters per token, so a 1,000 character prompt usually lands near 250. Digits, punctuation, and scripts such as Chinese, Korean, and Thai are weighted more heavily, the way real tokenizers treat them. Use it to keep prompts inside a context window or to sanity check cost before you send a request. For the reverse conversion, see how many words 1,000 tokens is.
- Speaking time
- How long the text takes to read aloud, estimated at a normal presentation pace of 150 words per minute and an average of six characters per word. Written a talk, a video script, or a voiceover? This tells you whether it fits the slot.
Compare two texts side by side
The compare button opens a second canvas next to the first. Each side is counted on its own and the difference between them appears beside every count, which makes it quick to check an edit against the original, fit a rewrite to the same length, or see how much a shorter prompt saves you. A Markdown preview button renders either side as formatted text without changing what is counted.
Character and word limits worth knowing
Most people open a counter because something has a limit. These are the ones people check most often. Paste your text into the canvas at the top of this page and the count updates as you type, so you can trim until it fits.
- Post on X (Twitter)
- 280 characters on a free account. A link always counts as a fixed 23 characters no matter how long the URL is, and attached images do not count toward the limit at all.
- Instagram caption and bio
- 2,200 characters for a caption, but only the first 125 or so are visible before the "more" cut, so the hook has to land early. A profile bio holds 150 characters. Hashtags count toward the caption limit.
- Text message (SMS)
- 160 characters in a single message. Go one character past it and the message is split and billed as two, which is why the character count matters here and the word count does not.
- Meta description and page title
- Google truncates a meta description at roughly 155 to 160 characters and a page title at roughly 60. Both are measured in characters, not words, and both include spaces.
- LinkedIn post and headline
- 3,000 characters for a feed post, counting spaces, line breaks, and emoji. 1,250 for a comment. 220 for the headline under your name, and 2,600 for the About section.
- YouTube title and description
- 100 characters for a video title and 5,000 for the description.
- Common App essay
- 650 words. This one is a word limit rather than a character limit, so read the word count above instead of the character count.
Speaking time and reading time
The speaking time counter above uses a normal presentation pace of 150 words per minute. Silent reading is faster, closer to 240 words per minute, which is why a page takes longer to say than to read. The table works both ways: start from a word count to get the time, or start from the time to get the word count you need to write.
| Words | Spoken | Read silently |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 40 sec | 25 sec |
| 250 | 1 min 40 sec | 1 min |
| 500 | 3 min 20 sec | 2 min 5 sec |
| 750 | 5 min | 3 min 10 sec |
| 1,000 | 6 min 40 sec | 4 min 10 sec |
| 1,500 | 10 min | 6 min 15 sec |
| 2,000 | 13 min 20 sec | 8 min 20 sec |
| 3,000 | 20 min | 12 min 30 sec |
| 5,000 | 33 min 20 sec | 20 min 50 sec |
Pace is personal. A slow, deliberate delivery runs nearer 120 words per minute and a fast one nearer 180, so a 10 minute slot can hold anywhere from 1,200 to 1,800 words. When the slot is strict, write to the lower number and leave room for pauses.
Words to pages
Page counts come from a word count, not a character count, so an essay or a report brief given in pages is really a word target in disguise. These figures assume the standard academic setup: 12pt Times New Roman or Arial, one inch margins, no images. Paste your draft into the canvas at the top of this page and read the word count to see where you stand.
| Words | Single spaced | Double spaced |
|---|---|---|
| 250 | ½ page | 1 page |
| 500 | 1 page | 2 pages |
| 750 | 1½ pages | 3 pages |
| 1,000 | 2 pages | 4 pages |
| 1,500 | 3 pages | 6 pages |
| 2,000 | 4 pages | 8 pages |
| 2,500 | 5 pages | 10 pages |
| 5,000 | 10 pages | 20 pages |
| 10,000 | 20 pages | 40 pages |
Font choice moves the number more than people expect. Times New Roman is narrow, so the same words fill fewer pages than they would in Arial or Calibri, and a wider line spacing such as 1.5 lands between the two columns above. Headings, block quotes, and a reference list all eat page space without adding many words, which is why a piece that hits the word target can still run a page long.
Questions and answers
How do I count characters in a text online?
Paste or type into the box at the top of this page. The character count updates as you type, with nothing to press and nothing to install.
Does the character count include spaces?
Yes. The main count includes spaces and punctuation but ignores blank space at the very start and end of your text. For the exact raw length including that outer whitespace, turn on Characters (raw) in the filter menu.
What is a token, and how is the token count calculated?
A token is the unit AI models use to read text, usually a short word or a piece of a longer one. This page estimates the count from your text's length and word count. The exact number varies by model, so treat it as a close approximation rather than a billing figure.
How many words is a 5 minute speech?
At about 150 words per minute, roughly 750 words. The speaking time counter applies that same pace to your text, so you can trim a script until it fits.
Is my text stored or sent anywhere?
All counting runs locally in your browser, and your text is never sent to a server. It does stay on your own device: what you type in the main box is kept in that browser's local storage, so it is still there when you come back. Clearing the box deletes it, and so does clearing your browser data. There is no account and no sign up, and the site records cookieless page view counts only.
How many characters is a tweet?
280 characters on a free X account. Any link inside the post counts as a flat 23 characters regardless of its real length, so a post that looks short can still be over the limit.
How many characters can one text message hold?
160 characters. Past that, the message is split into multiple parts and charged as multiple messages, so the character count is the number to watch.
How long should a meta description be?
Around 155 to 160 characters. Google cuts anything longer in the search result, so the last sentence is wasted if it runs past the limit.
How many words is a 3 minute speech?
About 450 words at a normal pace of 150 words per minute. Nearer 360 words if you speak slowly and pause often, and up to 540 if you speak quickly.
How many words is a 10 minute speech?
About 1,500 words at 150 words per minute. Slides, pauses and questions eat into that, so 1,300 to 1,400 words is the safer target for a strict 10 minute slot.
How long does it take to read 1,000 words?
About 4 minutes read silently at an average adult pace of 240 words per minute, and about 6 minutes 40 seconds read aloud at 150 words per minute.
How many pages is 500 words?
One page single spaced, or two pages double spaced, at 12pt with one inch margins. A 500 word answer is about one A4 side of continuous prose.
How many pages is 1,000 words?
Two pages single spaced and four pages double spaced. Add roughly half a page if the piece carries a title block, headings, or a short reference list.
How many words is a 2 page essay?
About 500 words double spaced, or about 1,000 words single spaced. Check which spacing the brief asks for before you write, because the two answers differ by a factor of two.