Sentence & Paragraph Counter
Paste your text to get an instant breakdown of sentence count, paragraph count, average words per sentence, and total word and character counts. This is particularly useful for checking readability — shorter sentences generally improve comprehension. All analysis runs locally in your browser.
Related Tools
[4 suggestions]Word Counter
Count the number of words in any text instantly with real-time stats.
Analysis & CountingCharacter Counter
Count total characters with or without spaces for tweets, bios, and limits.
Analysis & CountingReading Time Calculator
Estimate average reading and speaking time based on standard words-per-minute.
Analysis & CountingWord Frequency Counter
Discover recurring words and lexical density in essays, articles, or transcripts.
Analysis & CountingAbout the Sentence & Paragraph Counter
The Sentence & Paragraph Counter parses your text to extract structural metrics that go beyond simple word counting. Sentences are detected by scanning for terminal punctuation — periods, question marks, and exclamation points — followed by whitespace or end-of-input. Paragraphs are identified by blank lines (double newlines). The tool also calculates the average number of words per sentence, which is a key readability indicator: web content guidelines recommend 15–20 words per sentence for general audiences, while academic writing may average 20–25. If your average exceeds 25 words, the tool helps you identify where to break up complex sentences. Editors and UX writers use this to enforce style-guide rules, and students use it to meet assignment structure requirements like "minimum 5 paragraphs."
How does it detect sentences?▾
The tool identifies sentence boundaries by looking for periods (.), question marks (?), and exclamation points (!) followed by whitespace or the end of text. Abbreviations like "Mr." may be counted as sentence endings.
What is a good average words-per-sentence?▾
For standard web readability, 15–20 words per sentence is considered clear and accessible. Academic writing may average 20–25 words. Anything above 30 tends to reduce comprehension.
How are paragraphs detected?▾
Paragraphs are separated by blank lines (two consecutive newlines). A single line break without a blank line between does not start a new paragraph.