Paragraph Counter
Count paragraphs with a definition you can defend: blank-line-separated blocks, plus total and non-empty line counts for reconciling any other tool. Runs locally in your browser.
How counting works (spec v1)
- Words are locale-aware word segments: punctuation and emoji are not words, numbers like 3.50 count as one, contractions (don't) count as one, hyphenated compounds (follow-up) count as two, and a URL or email address counts as one.
- Characters are what you perceive: a family emoji, a flag or an accented letter counts as 1. Code points, UTF-16 units and bytes are in Detailed statistics.
- Sentences use locale-aware boundaries with abbreviation handling, so Dr., e.g. and $3.50 do not split.
- Paragraphs are blocks separated by a blank line. Line counts are in Detailed statistics.
- Density uses the same words as the headline count, phrases never cross a sentence boundary, and filters change what is listed, never the percentages.
Reading time uses 238 words per minute, speaking time 130 words per minute.
Detailed statistics
*English-language estimate. For a full report use the Readability Checker.
X's own rules: every link counts as 23, emoji and CJK count as 2.
Hard limit 2,200 characters; only about the first 125 show before "more".
Guidance, not a limit: Google truncates by pixel width per device. Check the SERP preview.
No fixed limit exists; snippets are truncated to fit and often rewritten.
Keyword density checker
Density is each phrase's share of ALL words in the text (the same word count as the headline). Filters and the English stopword list only change which phrases are listed, never the percentages. Phrases never bridge two sentences.
Type or paste text above to see your top words and phrases.
Very long text: phrases are computed from the first 200,000 words.
Paragraphs, lines and why the definition matters
"How many paragraphs" has two defensible answers and one wrong one. The defensible ones: blank-line-separated blocks (the typographic definition this page uses as its headline number) and non-empty lines (useful for scripts, subtitles and lists, shown in Detailed statistics). The wrong one is counting every press of Enter, empty or not, which inflates with formatting habits rather than content. When an assignment or CMS demands "at least N paragraphs", it almost always means visible text blocks, so the headline number here is the one to match.
Structure is also a readability lever. Take your word count divided by paragraphs: over about 120 words per paragraph, web readers start skimming past whole blocks. Breaking up slabs is the cheapest edit that measurably improves completion, cheaper than rewriting a single sentence.
Paragraph counter FAQ
What counts as a paragraph here?
A block of text separated by at least one blank line, which is how word processors, Markdown and most editors define paragraphs. Lines that merely wrap or sit on adjacent lines without a blank line between them belong to the same paragraph. Tools that instead count every non-empty line as a paragraph report wildly higher numbers on the same text; if you need that number, it is here too, as Non-empty lines in Detailed statistics.
Why does my paragraph count differ from my word processor?
Word processors count paragraph marks, one per press of Enter, including empty ones in some views. This tool counts visible blocks of text and ignores empty lines. Paste the same text in both and the difference is exactly the empty paragraph marks. The Total lines and Non-empty lines stats let you reconcile any counter's definition.
How long should a paragraph be?
For web writing, 2 to 4 sentences. Screens punish walls of text: a paragraph that looks fine on paper reads as a gray slab on a phone, and readers skip slabs. Academic and print writing tolerates 100 to 200 words per paragraph. Divide your word count by paragraph count right on this page to see your average.
Does it handle Windows and Unix line endings?
Yes. CRLF, LF and CR line endings are all recognized, and a blank line means the same thing in each, so text pasted from Windows, macOS or any code editor counts identically.
Is my text private?
Fully: counting runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded. The draft autosave is a visible toggle that stores only on this device, with a delete button.
More free tools: Word Counter · Sentence Counter · Character Counter · Readability Checker · Reading Time Calculator