Paste your text and see how many sentences it contains, along with the average, longest and shortest sentence measured in words. Long sentences are the most common reason a text feels heavy — this counter shows you exactly where you stand before an editor does.
Statistics appear as soon as you add text.
How it works
Sentences are detected by their ending punctuation: a period, exclamation mark, question mark or ellipsis, with closing quotes and brackets kept attached to the sentence they end. A final fragment without terminal punctuation still counts as one sentence, because that is how readers experience it.
The word statistics per sentence are what make the count useful. Journalism handbooks aim for an average of 15–20 words per sentence; academic writing runs longer, ad copy much shorter. If your longest sentence is triple your average, that is usually the first sentence worth splitting.
Abbreviations like “e.g.” or “dr.” can occasionally register an extra sentence — a limitation shared by every punctuation-based counter, including those in professional writing apps. For normal prose the count is exact.
Practical examples
Meeting a homework requirement
The assignment says “at least 12 sentences”. Paste your draft and know immediately — no whispering counting under your breath while pointing at the screen.
Tightening a cover letter
Your average is 28 words per sentence and the longest is 61. Split the monster sentence in two and re-check — watching the average drop is oddly satisfying.
Checking translated text
A translation should roughly preserve sentence count. If the original has 40 sentences and your translation has 25, entire sentences were probably merged or dropped.
Writing for text-to-speech
Screen readers and TTS engines pause at sentence ends. Many short sentences produce a choppy listen; a few long ones leave no place to breathe. The average helps you tune the rhythm.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as one sentence?
A stretch of text ending in a period, exclamation mark, question mark or ellipsis. “Really?!” counts once — consecutive end marks belong to the same sentence. Text after the last end mark counts as a final sentence even without punctuation.
Do abbreviations like “e.g.” break the count?
Sometimes. A period after an abbreviation looks identical to a sentence end, so “I met dr. Jovanović.” may register as two sentences. No punctuation-based counter can fully avoid this without understanding the language; expect the count to be off by at most a sentence or two in abbreviation-heavy text.
What is a good average sentence length?
For general audiences, 15–20 words is a widely used target: long enough to carry an idea, short enough to follow. Legal and academic writing runs to 25–30; marketing copy often sits under 12. Treat it as a rhythm check, not a rule.
Why is the longest sentence shown?
Because one 60-word sentence damages readability more than a slightly high average. It is the single most actionable number here — find it, split it, re-check.
Does a line break end a sentence?
No. Only end punctuation does. A heading without a period will be counted together with what follows it — add periods or count headings separately.
Does the counter work in Serbian and other languages?
Yes. It relies on punctuation, not vocabulary, so any language using ., ! and ? works — including Serbian in both scripts. Languages with different end marks (like Japanese 。) are not yet recognized.
Is my text uploaded anywhere?
No. Counting happens in your browser as you type; the page works even offline once loaded, and nothing is stored when you leave.
How large can the text be?
Practically unlimited — the analysis is linear, so even a full novel manuscript counts in well under a second on an ordinary laptop.
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