Paragraph Counter
See how many paragraphs your text has and how many words are in each. Handy for essays with a required structure and for spotting walls of text.
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How the Paragraph Counter works
A paragraph is a block of text separated from the next by at least one blank line. Lines that contain only spaces or tabs count as blank. Several blank lines in a row still make a single break, so extra spacing never inflates the count.
Single line breaks inside a block do not start a new paragraph, which matches how text from emails, PDFs and word processors is usually laid out. If your text has one paragraph per line with no blank lines between them, add a blank line between them first; the “Add Line Breaks” tool can help.
Windows (CRLF), Mac (CR) and Linux (LF) line endings are all recognised, as are the Unicode line and paragraph separators.
How to use it
- Paste your text, keeping the blank lines between paragraphs.
- Read the paragraph count at the top.
- Use the per-paragraph word counts to find sections that are too long or too short.
Example
Three paragraphs: the line break inside the first one and the doubled blank line do not change the count.
Text
First paragraph with a few words. It continues on a second line. Second paragraph. Third one here, a little longer than the others.
Result
- Paragraphs
- 3
- Lines
- 7
- Words
- 23
Frequently asked questions
Why does my text show only one paragraph?
Your paragraphs are probably separated by a single line break rather than a blank line. Add an empty line between them, or switch your editor to “paragraph spacing” instead of Enter-Enter if it hides the empty line.
Are headings and list items paragraphs?
They are counted as paragraphs when they are separated by blank lines from the text around them. A list written with one item per line and no blank lines counts as one paragraph.
How long should a paragraph be?
There is no fixed rule, but for reading on screen 3 to 5 sentences is a common guide. Very long blocks are harder to scan, so the per-paragraph word counts here make them easy to spot.