Tools

Markdown word counter

Paste a Markdown document. The counter strips syntax (heading marks, list bullets, link URLs, code fences, image alt-text) so what you see is what readers will see - words, characters, and reading time at a glance.

Words
61
Reading time
1 min
Characters
383
323 without spaces
Headings
1
List items
3
Links
0
Code blocks
0

How it counts

Markdown source is run through a lightweight pass that removes heading hashes, list markers, link/image syntax, code fences, inline code, blockquote markers, and HTML tags before counting words. The result matches a reading experience instead of inflating counts with formatting characters.

  • Words: whitespace-separated tokens after stripping syntax.
  • Characters: with and without spaces, after stripping syntax.
  • Reading time: words ÷ 230 wpm, rounded up to the nearest minute.

When this is useful

  • Newsletter or blog posts written in Markdown.
  • Proposals, reports and white papers heading to a strict word budget.
  • SEO-led content where you want a reliable reading time signal.