How to use the paragraph counter
- 1 Type or paste your text into the box.
- 2 If your paragraphs are not separated by blank lines, tick Count every line as a paragraph.
- 3 Read the totals: paragraphs, sentences, words, average words per paragraph and the longest paragraph.
- 4 Check the list below to see each paragraph's length; long ones are marked.
How long should paragraphs be?
Short paragraphs of two to four sentences read best on phones. Check the total length with the Word Counter, and find long sentences inside each paragraph with the Sentence Counter.
- Split paragraphs over 150 words.
- Separate paragraphs with a blank line for an accurate count.
- Fix PDF text with Remove Line Breaks first.
Features
Paragraph totals
Paragraphs, sentences, words and averages at a glance.
Paragraph by paragraph
Word and sentence count for every paragraph.
Long paragraph alerts
Paragraphs over 150 words are highlighted.
When to use it
Essays and assignments
Meet paragraph requirements, such as a five-paragraph essay. For the total word count, use the Word Counter.
Blog posts and web pages
Short paragraphs are easier to read on phones. Find and split the long ones.
Job and university applications
Check personal statements against paragraph and word limits.
Editing
Balance paragraph lengths and spot walls of text. For sentence lengths, use the Sentence Counter.
Related Text tasks
Frequently asked questions
How does the counter decide what a paragraph is?
A paragraph is a block of text separated from the next by at least one blank line. If your text uses single line breaks between paragraphs, tick the option to count every line as a paragraph.
Why does my paragraph count look wrong?
Text copied from PDFs or emails often breaks every line, or uses no blank lines. Switch the line option, or tidy the text first with Remove Line Breaks.
How long should a paragraph be?
For web writing, two to four sentences or about forty to eighty words reads well on a phone. Academic paragraphs are often longer, around one hundred to two hundred words.
What is a five-paragraph essay?
A common school format with an introduction, three body paragraphs and a conclusion. The counter helps you check the structure quickly.
Are headings counted as paragraphs?
A heading on its own line, separated by blank lines, counts as a short paragraph. Remove headings first if your limit excludes them.
How are sentences counted?
A sentence ends with a full stop, question mark, exclamation mark or ellipsis. Common abbreviations such as Dr. and e.g. are not counted as sentence ends.
Can I paste a long document?
Yes. Long texts are counted instantly, and the first three hundred paragraphs are listed in detail.
Do bullet points count as paragraphs?
Each bullet point on its own line is counted as a separate paragraph only when you choose to count every line. With the default setting, a list without blank lines between items counts as one paragraph.
Why should web paragraphs be short?
Most visitors read on phones, where a long paragraph fills the whole screen. Short paragraphs with one idea each are easier to scan, which keeps people reading.
Is my writing stored anywhere?
No. Counting happens in your browser, so your essay or article stays on your device.
How this tool works. These text tools run entirely in your browser with plain JavaScript, so the text you paste never leaves your device and results update as you type. Each tool is tested with real text such as copied PDFs, emails, code, lists, emojis and non-English scripts before it goes live.
Built and reviewed by Hamza Farooq, founder and lead developer
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