Tool
Sentence Counter
Paste text and get a live sentence count with average length, longest and shortest sentences, and a readability breakdown.
0
Sentences
0
Words
0
Characters
—
Avg sentence
—
Longest
—
Shortest
About the Sentence Counter
Sentence length directly affects how readable your writing is. Very short sentences (under 8 words) are punchy and easy to absorb. Standard sentences (15–20 words) work well for most content. Long sentences (over 25 words) require more concentration and can lose readers mid-way.
The distribution chart shows how your sentences break down across length categories. Good writing varies sentence length — a mix of short and medium sentences with the occasional long one is more engaging than uniform-length sentences. If your distribution is heavily weighted toward long sentences, consider splitting some of them.
The tool detects sentences ending with . ! and ?. If a sentence has no terminal punctuation, it is counted as one sentence.
Readability targets: Flesch-Kincaid guidelines suggest 15–20 words per sentence for standard readability. Academic writing sits at 20–25 words. Conversational content and marketing copy works best at 10–15 words. News writing often goes shorter. The best writing mixes lengths — a short punchy sentence after a longer one creates rhythm and holds attention better than uniform-length sentences throughout.
More free text tools: Word Counter · Character Counter · Paragraph Counter · Whitespace Remover