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| Characters | ≈ Words (5.1 avg) | Words (with spaces removed) | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | ≈ 20 | ≈ 24 | One or two sentences |
| 280 | ≈ 55 | ≈ 66 | One X (Twitter) post |
| 500 | ≈ 98 | ≈ 117 | Short paragraph block |
| 1,000 | ≈ 196 | ≈ 235 | LinkedIn post limit area |
| 2,000 | ≈ 392 | ≈ 470 | Blog intro + summary |
| 5,000 | ≈ 980 | ≈ 1,176 | Short article |
| 10,000 | ≈ 1,961 | ≈ 2,353 | Long form guide |
There's no fixed conversion, it depends on the words you use. But English text is remarkably consistent on average: about 5 characters per word including the space (roughly 4.7 letters plus a space). That's why a 1,000 character limit usually means around 190 to 200 words.
| Text type | Average chars/word | Effect on the estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Conversational social posts | 4.4 to 4.7 | More words than estimated |
| News / general web copy | 4.9 to 5.2 | Close to the default |
| Academic papers | 5.8 to 6.3 | Fewer words than estimated |
| Legal / medical documents | 6.5 to 7.5 | Noticeably fewer words |
| Text with many numbers, codes or URLs | Highly variable | Use exact counting instead |
What the estimate is based on.
Paste it in and you get exact characters and exact words side by side, with no estimate involved.
About 167 words at 6 characters per word, and closer to 200 words in plain conversational English.
Short words such as the and long ones such as extraordinary both count as one word but take up very different space.