Sentence Counter
Count sentences and see your average sentence length as you type. Average sentence length is one of the strongest signals of how readable your writing is, which makes this a fast editing check.
How sentences are detected
A sentence boundary is counted at a full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark followed by whitespace or the end of the text. Closing quotes and brackets are handled, so "Stop!" she said. counts as one sentence rather than two. Abbreviations with internal periods, such as "e.g." or "Dr.", can occasionally produce an extra count — no rule-based detector avoids this entirely without a dictionary.
What your average sentence length means
- Under 14 words — punchy and very easy to read. Good for instructions, UI copy, and marketing.
- 14–20 words — the sweet spot for most non-fiction, journalism, and business writing.
- 20–25 words — noticeably denser. Fine for academic or technical audiences.
- Over 25 words — most readers start losing the thread. Look for sentences you can split at a comma or conjunction.
Vary length, do not just shorten
The common advice to "write short sentences" is only half right. Text where every sentence is the same length reads as monotonous regardless of whether that length is short or long. Strong prose mixes a long sentence that develops an idea with a short one that lands it. Use the average as a warning signal rather than a target — if it is above 25, you have a problem worth fixing; between 14 and 20, focus on variety instead. The readability checker scores this more formally.