# Sentence Counter > Count sentences, words and paragraphs, see your average sentence length, and find your longest, shortest and too-long sentences. - Page: https://linguaholic.com/tools/sentence-counter/ - Type: free online tool (Text tools), no sign-up, runs in the browser - Publisher: Linguaholic (https://linguaholic.com/), made by Marcel Iseli - Last updated: October 3, 2026 - Open it pre-filled: https://linguaholic.com/tools/sentence-counter/?text=Dr.%20Lee%20arrived%20at%205%20p.m.%20She%20was%20late.&view=list - `text`: text to count sentences in (up to 20,000 characters) (for example `Dr. Lee arrived at 5 p.m. She was late.`) - `max`: word limit for a long sentence: 20, 25, 30 (default), 35 or 40 (for example `25`) - `view`: how to show the sentences: highlight (default) or list (for example `list`) - `lines`: 1 counts every line as a sentence (lists, poems) (for example `1`) ## How to use the sentence counter Paste or type your text in the box. The **sentence count** updates as you type, together with the number of words and paragraphs, the **average number of words per sentence**, and your longest and shortest sentence. Nothing is uploaded: the counting happens in your browser, so it is safe for essays, reports and private drafts. 1. **Add your text.** Paste a whole essay or type a few lines. Tap **Try an example** to see how a short sample is counted. 2. **Read the numbers.** The six boxes show sentences, words, paragraphs, words per sentence, and the longest and shortest sentence. The line under them adds the median sentence length, sentences per paragraph, how many questions and exclamations you wrote, and the character count. 3. **Check the length chart.** It sorts your sentences into five groups by length. Choose the limit for a “long” sentence (20, 25, 30, 35, 40 words; 30 is the default) and the tool lists every sentence over it, so you know exactly which ones to split. 4. **See every sentence.** *Highlighted* shows your text with each sentence shaded and numbered, the longest outlined in yellow, the shortest in teal, and long ones in red. *Numbered list* puts one sentence per row with its word count; sort it longest first or show only the long ones. 5. **Copy what you need.** *Copy results* copies a short report of all the numbers; *Copy sentences* copies the numbered list. For a list, a poem or a set of headings that have no periods, tick **Each line is a sentence**. Without it, sentences are split by punctuation, which is right for ordinary prose. ## What the numbers mean ### Sentences A sentence is a run of words that ends with a period, a question mark, an exclamation mark or an ellipsis, or that stops at the end of a paragraph. Text with no words at all, such as a stray “...” or a line of emoji, is not counted as a sentence. ### Words and paragraphs Words are counted the way a reader sees them: “don’t”, “well-known”, “3.14” and “e.g.” are one word each. Paragraphs are the blocks separated by blank lines. If your text has no blank lines at all, each line counts as a paragraph, because that is how text pasted from most editors and chat apps is laid out. ### Average and median words per sentence The **average sentence length** is the number of words in your sentences divided by the number of sentences. The median is the middle length when all sentences are lined up from shortest to longest. When one very long sentence pulls the average up, the median shows what a typical sentence looks like. In the example text, the average is 11.4 words but the median is only 6, because one sentence runs to 46 words. ### Longest and shortest sentence The longest sentence is usually the first place to look when a text feels heavy. The shortest may be a punchy line you wrote on purpose, or a fragment that slipped in by accident. If two sentences tie, the first one is marked. ## Frequently asked questions **How does the sentence counter work?** Paste or type your text and the count updates as you type. A sentence ends at a period, question mark, exclamation mark or ellipsis when a new sentence starts after it, and at the end of every paragraph. **Does it count abbreviations like Dr. or e.g. as the end of a sentence?** No. Titles such as Dr. and Mrs., shorthands such as e.g., i.e. and vs., a.m. and p.m., initials, decimals like 3.14 and web addresses are recognized, so they don't split a sentence. Switch to Highlighted to see exactly where each sentence starts. **What is a good average sentence length?** Many plain-writing guides suggest an average of about 15 to 20 words per sentence, with a mix of short and longer ones. Sentences over 25 to 30 words are worth a second look; the tool flags them for you. **How many sentences are in a paragraph?** There is no fixed rule. School essays often use three to five sentences per paragraph (some teachers ask for five to eight), while web writing and emails use shorter paragraphs of one to three sentences. **How many sentences is 100 words?** About 5 to 7 sentences, at a typical 15 to 20 words per sentence. 250 words is about 13 to 17 sentences and 500 words about 25 to 33. **What counts as a long sentence?** The tool flags sentences over 30 words by default, and you can set the limit to 20, 25, 35 or 40 words. Flagged sentences are marked in red in the text and listed by number. **How are paragraphs counted?** Blocks separated by a blank line are paragraphs. If your text has no blank lines at all, each line counts as a paragraph, which matches text pasted from most editors and chat apps. **Can I count each line as a sentence?** Yes. Tick Each line is a sentence for lists, poems or headings without periods. Lines that start with a bullet or a number, such as - item or 1. item, always start a new sentence. **Can I copy the results or the list of sentences?** Yes. Copy results copies a short report with every number, and Copy sentences copies a numbered list of your sentences with the word count of each. **Is my text private?** Yes. 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