- Words
- 0
- Characters
- 0
- Without spaces
- 0
- Sentences
- 0
- Paragraphs
- 0
- Reading time
- 0 sec
- Speaking time
- 0 sec
0 of 650 words, 650 left.
How the counts work
- Words: groups of characters between spaces or line breaks that contain a letter or a number. "Well-known" and "don't" are one word each; a dash standing alone is not a word.
- Characters: every letter, space and symbol you can see. An emoji or an accented letter counts as one. Line breaks are not counted.
- Sentences: pieces that end in a period, question mark or exclamation point. "Dr. Lee" and "3.5" do not end a sentence.
- Paragraphs: lines that have text on them.
- Reading time: words divided by 238 per minute, the average silent reading speed for adults reading non-fiction in English in a 2019 review of 190 studies. Speaking time uses 183 words per minute, that review's average for reading aloud.
Common limits
| Where | Limit | Counted in |
|---|---|---|
| Common App personal essay | 650 | words |
| Common App additional information | 300 | words |
| Common App challenges and circumstances | 250 | words |
| X (Twitter) post | 280 | characters, links count 23, emoji count 2 |
Worked examples
Example 1: counting a tricky sentence
Problem Count: I met Dr. Lee at 3:30 - a well-known teacher.
- Split at the spaces: I, met, Dr., Lee, at, 3:30, -, a, well-known, teacher. That is 10 pieces.
- The lone dash has no letter or number, so it is not a word.
- "Dr." does not end the sentence, so there is one sentence.
Answer 9 words, 1 sentence
Example 2: how long is a 650 word essay to read?
Problem Your Common App essay is exactly 650 words.
- Reading time at 238 words per minute.
- Speaking time at 183 words per minute, if you read it aloud to check the flow.
Answer About 2 min 44 s to read, 3 min 34 s to read aloud
Frequently asked questions
What is the Common App essay word limit?
650 words. The Common App's own instructions say to write an essay of no more than 650 words and that 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Pick the Common App personal essay limit above to see how many words you have left.
Is my essay saved or sent anywhere?
Your text never leaves your device. It is not saved at all unless you tick "Keep my text in this browser", which stores it in this browser only. Leave the box unticked on a shared or school computer, and press Clear text when you are done.
How does X count characters?
An X post can hold 280 characters. X counts every link as 23 characters, whatever its length, and counts each emoji and each Chinese, Japanese or Korean character as 2. Pick the X post limit to count the way X does.
Why is my count different from another app's?
Apps disagree on a few edge cases: words joined by a slash or a long dash, numbers with symbols, and lone punctuation. This counter treats any group of characters between spaces as one word if it has a letter or a number in it.
How do I cut words from an essay that is too long?
Cut whole sentences that repeat an idea before trimming single words. Then look for filler like "really", "very" and "in order to", and for sentences that start with "There is" or "It is", which can usually lose two or three words.
Sources
- Common App: first-year application, writing section (PDF, linked from the Member Solutions Center), accessed October 1, 2026
- Common App: Announcing the 2025 to 2026 Common App essay prompts (additional information and challenges limits), accessed October 1, 2026
- Common App: Announcing the 2026 to 2027 Common App essay prompts, accessed October 1, 2026
- X Developer Platform: Counting characters, accessed October 1, 2026
- Brysbaert (2019), How many words do we read per minute? Journal of Memory and Language, accessed October 1, 2026
