What Is Average Word Length?

Average word length is the mean number of letters in the words of your text. In this tool, it is calculated by dividing the total number of letters by the total number of words. Thanks to this metric, you can get a sense of the complexity and readability of your writing.

For example, if your text has 500 letters across 100 words, your average word length would be 5.00 letters per word.

What is the average word length for the English language?

While word length varies by language, the average English word is 4.79 letters long, based on analysis of billions of words¹. However, this number may differ depending on the text type, the type of audience, the author's writing style, and other similar factors.

How to Use the Average Word Length Calculator

1. Start typing your text into the input box. Or, if it is a long text, like essays or articles, copy and paste the entire document into the box.
2. View the average word length instantly as the calculator updates automatically as you type or edit your text.

If you want other metrics, you can check them in this calculator without having to use a separate word count tool or count words manually. It also shows you the word count, character count, and the total count of short, medium, and long words.

How the calculation works

The tool determines the character count and then it divides that by the number of words to give you the average word length. Not that our calculator only counts letters in all the words. It does not count the punctuation marks or spaces. Then it calculates the precise average to two decimal places.

Why Average Word Length Matters

Average word length is one of the important metrics for assessing the readability of your text. A shorter average word length (3-4 letters) means that the text is easier to read, and it is suitable for general audiences. A medium average length (4-5 letters) means the complexity is acceptable, and it is typical for most English writing. Lastly, a longer average (5+ letters) means bigger words overall. Such texts are probably more complex or technical writing that use difficult words with many syllables.