How to Use the Average Word Length Calculator
- Type or paste your text into the input box.
- The tool shows the average word length instantly and updates automatically as you type or edit your text. It also shows you the word count, character count, and the total count of short, medium, and long words.
What Is Average Word Length?
Average word length is the mean number of letters in the words of your text. Longer words can be more difficult to read, so average word length helps you understand the complexity and readability of your writing.
This tool divides the total character count in a text (excluding punctuation marks and spaces) by the number of words to calculate average word length. For example, if your text has 500 letters across 100 words, your average word length would be 5 letters per word.
How long is the average English word?
The average English word is 4.79 letters long, based on an analysis of billions of words. However, this number can change depending on the text type, the type of audience, the author's writing style, and other factors.
Why Average Word Length Matters
How easy is your text to read? Average word length is a key metric for assessing readability.
- A low average word length (3-4 letters) means that the text is easier to read and is suitable for general audiences.
- A medium average (4-5 letters) means the text has average complexity. This corresponds to typical English writing.
- A higher average (5+ letters) means longer words overall. Such texts are usually more complex or technical and use difficult words with many syllables.
Related Tools
- Words to Pages Calculator: Estimate how many pages a text could fill based on average word length.
- Words to Characters: Convert a word count into an estimated number of characters.