Sentence Counter - Count Sentences Online

Count the number of sentences in your text instantly — a quick, free tool for writers and editors checking sentence length and readability.

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About the Sentence Counter

Sentence length has a big effect on how easy writing is to read. This sentence counter shows how many sentences your text contains, how many words you have, the average number of words per sentence and the length of your longest sentence. Those four numbers give you a quick readability check for essays, web pages, emails and marketing copy.

How to use the Sentence Counter

Paste a paragraph, article or any text into the box.
Read the sentence count, word count, average words per sentence and longest sentence.
Shorten the longest sentences, then watch the average fall.

How sentences are counted

The tool splits your text wherever a sentence ends with a period, question mark or exclamation mark. It then counts the words in each sentence to work out the average and to find the longest one. Take this example: “Short sentences help. Long ones, with many clauses, tend to lose readers. Really?” It contains 3 sentences and 13 words, so the average is about 4.3 words per sentence, and the longest sentence has 9 words.

Because the counter relies on punctuation, an abbreviation such as “Dr.” in the middle of a sentence or an ellipsis can make the count slightly higher than you would count by hand. For ordinary writing the result is very close.

What is a good average sentence length?

For general web content, an average of 15 to 20 words per sentence is easy for most readers. Legal, academic and technical writing often runs longer, but readers still struggle with sentences over 30 words. A mix works best: short sentences for emphasis, medium ones for explanation and the occasional longer one for detail. SEO tools such as Yoast flag a text when more than a quarter of its sentences are longer than 20 words, so it is a useful number to watch if you publish articles online.

Tips for better readability

Aim for an average of 15 to 20 words per sentence in web copy.
Split any sentence over 30 words into two.
Vary the rhythm: mix short and longer sentences.
Read your text aloud. If you run out of breath, the sentence is too long.
Use one idea per sentence and cut filler words such as very, really and just.

Common uses

Check readability of blog posts, landing pages and product descriptions
Meet sentence requirements in school and university assignments
Review writing for English learners and simplified-language projects
Compare drafts and see whether editing made your writing tighter

Frequently asked questions

How does the tool detect a sentence?

A sentence is counted each time the text ends with a period, question mark or exclamation mark.

What is a good sentence length for web content?

Many writers aim for 15 to 20 words per sentence on average, with the longest sentences kept below about 30 words.

Does it work for Arabic text?

The tool counts sentences that end with a period, question mark or exclamation mark. If your text uses other kinds of punctuation, double-check the result by eye.

Is my text private?

Yes. Everything is processed in your browser and nothing is uploaded.