Sentence and Paragraph Counter
Count sentences, paragraphs, words and lines instantly. Shows the average words per sentence.
What is a sentence counter?
A sentence counter analyses a text and counts how many sentences, paragraphs, words and lines it contains. Unlike a simple word counter, it focuses on the structure of the text: how many sentences make it up and how they group into paragraphs.
Besides counting the sentences, the tool calculates the average words per sentence, a key readability indicator. Sentences that are too long make reading harder, so watching this figure helps you write more clearly and directly.
For a fuller analysis, try the readability analyzer or the main word counter.
What is counting sentences and paragraphs for?
Improve your writing
A high average of words per sentence usually means long, hard-to-read sentences. Track this figure to write more clearly.
Academic work
Check the number of sentences and paragraphs in an essay or summary to meet the length guidelines you are given.
Content and SEO
Short sentences improve readability. Count the sentences in a paragraph to make it more scannable and snappy.
Study and analysis
Analyse the structure of a text by counting its paragraphs and sentences, useful for summaries, close reading and stylometry.
How sentences and paragraphs are counted
Sentences
One sentence is counted for each fragment of text that ends in a period, an exclamation, a question mark or an ellipsis. Runs of these marks count as a single sentence end.
Paragraphs
A paragraph is a block separated by a blank line. If your text uses only single line breaks, each block counts as a paragraph when there is an empty line between them.
Average per sentence
We divide the total words by the number of sentences. A value between 15 and 20 usually indicates good readability; higher figures point to sentences worth splitting.