Word guide + counter
Word character counter: how to count characters in Word
Here you'll see where to find the character count in Word and why the figure can differ from an online counter. You can also paste your Word text below and see the characters at once.
Character limit or target
Counted with spaces. Change the basis with the switch below.
Character limits by channel (characters with spaces)
Show text analysis
Most frequent words
- Type some text to see the most frequent words.
How to see the character count in Word
Microsoft Word counts characters and words automatically, but the feature isn't always visible. The quickest way is to look at the bottom of the window: the Word Count there tells you the number of words directly. When you want more detailed figures, such as characters with spaces and characters without spaces, click the word count and a separate window opens with all the metrics.
- Open the document in Word.
- Look at the status bar at the bottom and find Word Count.
- Click the word count — the window that opens shows characters with and without spaces, paragraphs and lines.
- If you like, select only part of the text to see the character count for that selection.
The location and names of the menus can vary by Word version and the language of your operating system, but the principle is the same in all recent versions and in Word for the web.
Why does Word show a different figure from an online counter?
When you copy text from Word into this counter, the figures can differ by a few characters. The most common reasons are:
- Line breaks and hidden characters are counted differently in different programs.
- Footnotes, headers and footers may be part of Word's figure but not of the copied text.
- Selected text vs. the whole document — make sure which one the figure was counted from.
If you specifically need the no-spaces figure, open the character counter without spaces. There you can also choose whether line breaks and tabs are removed.
Word vs. this character counter
Paste the same text into both and compare. The online counter shows the same basic figures as Word, plus sentences, paragraphs, unique words and an estimated reading time. It's handy when you want to check the length quickly without opening the whole document.
Recent counts
Counts are saved only in your own browser so you can return to them later. They are never sent to any server.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the character count in Word?
The word count appears in Word's status bar at the bottom. When you click it, the Word Count window opens, showing characters with and without spaces, paragraphs and lines. The menu paths can vary by Word version and language.
How do I count only the selected text?
Select the text you want with the mouse. Word shows the word count of the selection in the status bar, and the Word Count window shows both the selection and the whole document. This lets you count, say, the characters in a single paragraph.
Why do Word and the online counter show a different figure?
The difference usually comes from line breaks, hidden characters, footnotes, or headers and footers, which programs count differently. Small differences of a few characters are normal. Pasting the text into this counter gives you a comparison figure at once.
Does this work with Word for the web too?
Yes. Word for the web also shows a word count, and you can always copy the text into this online counter if you want to see characters without spaces or other metrics.
Other tools and guides
Continue with these tools
Internally linked tools and guides that complement this page.