A live 500 word counter with a progress bar to the 500-word mark. Type or paste your essay and the count updates as you write. Free, private, and browser-based.
500 words is the classic short-essay length — college application essays, blog posts, and op-eds often target it. It is about one single-spaced page and reads in roughly two to three minutes. That is about 1 page single-spaced (≈ 2 double-spaced), and reads in about 3 minutes.
500 words is about 1 page single-spaced (≈ 2 double-spaced), depending on font, size, and spacing.
At an average reading speed of about 200 words per minute, 500 words takes roughly 3 minutes to read.
Yes. Words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, reading time, and the goal progress bar all update live as you type or paste.
Completely. All counting happens in your browser — your text is never sent to any server or stored anywhere.