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Word count and reading time for .md files
This word counter measures the text a reader actually sees in a Markdown document – without front matter, code, link URLs or formatting marks – and shows words, characters, sentences and reading time per section and per file.
Last updated:
How it works
Paste or drop files
Paste Markdown or drop one or many .md files, for example all chapters of a book or a docs folder.
Decide what counts
Include or exclude inline code, code blocks and image alt text, and set your reading and speaking speed.
Read the numbers
Totals, a breakdown by heading, a table per file, the most frequent words and the exact text that was counted.
Features
Counts prose, not syntax
Front matter, code blocks, HTML comments, URLs and Markdown markers are left out, so "**bold**" is one word and a link counts only its text.
Every language
Words are found with the browser's Unicode word segmentation, which handles accents, apostrophes and languages without spaces such as Chinese or Japanese.
Section breakdown
See how long each section is and how long it takes to read – useful for balancing chapters or keeping a blog post within a target.
Several files
Drop a whole folder of .md files and get totals plus a row per file.
Top words
The most frequent words (without common English stop words) with their share of the text help spot repetition.
Limits & privacy
Up to 100 files, each up to 10 MB, 50 MB in total. Sentence and word boundaries come from the browser’s Intl.Segmenter, so results can differ slightly between browsers for unusual punctuation. Nothing is uploaded or stored. See the privacy page.
FAQ
How are words counted in Markdown?
The Markdown is reduced to the visible text first: headings, list items, table cells and link text count; markers, URLs and code do not.
How is reading time calculated?
Words divided by your reading speed. The default 230 words per minute is a common average for adults reading on screen; change it to your audience.
Why is my count different from Word or Google Docs?
Those count everything in the file. Compare with "Words incl. markup & code", which counts the raw file, to see how much is syntax.
Can I count words in code blocks?
Yes, turn on Code blocks. Inline code is counted by default because it is usually part of a sentence.
Does it count characters with and without spaces?
Yes, both, on the counted text only. Emoji and accented letters count as one character each.
Is my text sent anywhere?
No. Counting happens in your browser; the files are not uploaded.