About the Paragraph Counter
Short paragraphs make on-screen reading easier, and many assignments ask for a specific number of paragraphs. This tool counts paragraphs as blocks of text separated by at least one blank line, which is how most editors and websites display them.
Alongside the count, you get the total number of words, the average words per paragraph and the length of your longest and shortest paragraphs, so you can spot walls of text that need breaking up.
How to use it
- Paste your text, keeping blank lines between paragraphs.
- Click Count Paragraphs.
- Review the paragraph statistics.
Example
Our story began in a small workshop. Today we help thousands of writers every month with simple, private tools. Thank you for being here.
Paragraphs 3 Words 24 Average words per paragraph 8 Longest paragraph 12 words Shortest paragraph 5 words
When to use it
- Checking essays against structure requirements such as a five-paragraph essay.
- Keeping blog paragraphs short for mobile readers.
- Analysing the structure of long documents.
- Comparing drafts before and after editing.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a paragraph?
Any block of text separated from the next by one or more blank lines. Single line breaks inside a block do not start a new paragraph.
My paragraphs are separated by single line breaks. What can I do?
Word processors sometimes copy paragraphs with single line breaks. Add a blank line between them, or use Find and Replace with regular expressions to double the line breaks.
How long should a paragraph be?
For web content, two to four sentences, or roughly 40 to 80 words, is easy to scan. Academic writing often uses longer paragraphs.
Is the text I enter kept private?
Yes. The Paragraph Counter runs entirely in your web browser, so your text is never uploaded to or stored on our servers. Like most free websites, TextForge shows ads from Google, which may use cookies. See our Privacy Policy for details.