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Unique Word Counter
Count how many distinct words a text uses and how varied it is.
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distinct words
| Word | Times used |
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Quick Tool Overview
The Unique Word Counter counts how many distinct words a text uses, alongside the total word count and the ratio between them. That ratio — lexical diversity — is one of the fastest ways to see whether a piece of writing keeps reaching for the same handful of words.
- What it does
- Counts distinct words and measures vocabulary variety
- You give it
- An essay, article, chapter or transcript
- You get back
- Total words, unique words, diversity ratio and a full word list
- Best for
- Self-editing, style analysis and language coursework
About the Unique Word Counter
Total word count tells you how long a piece is. The unique word count tells you how varied it is. A 1,000-word article built from 300 distinct words reads very differently from one built from 550, and the ratio between the two — often called lexical diversity — is one of the quickest ways to spot writing that keeps circling the same vocabulary.
The tool reports the total, the number of distinct words and the type-token ratio between them, then lists every unique word with how often it appears. Case folding and common filler words can both be switched off, which matters when you want "The" and "the" treated as one word, or want the count to ignore articles and prepositions entirely.
Key features of the Unique Word Counter
Type-token ratio
Unique words divided by total words, the standard measure of lexical diversity, calculated for you rather than by hand.
Case folding on demand
Treat "The" and "the" as one word or as two, depending on whether you are measuring vocabulary or exact forms.
Filler words can be excluded
Drop articles, prepositions and other function words so the ratio reflects meaningful vocabulary only.
Full frequency list
Every distinct word is listed with its count, so the ones you lean on are immediately visible.
Works at any length
A paragraph or a novel are analysed the same way, entirely inside your browser.
How to use the Unique Word Counter
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1
Paste your text
Any length of writing — an essay, an article or a whole chapter.
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2
Choose how words are matched
Decide whether case matters and whether common filler words such as "the" and "of" should be excluded.
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3
Read the diversity figures
Total words, unique words and the ratio between them are shown together.
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4
Scan the word list
Every distinct word is listed with its frequency, so the ones you lean on are obvious.
Frequently asked questions
For general English prose, roughly 0.40 to 0.50 is typical for a piece of a few hundred words. The figure naturally falls as a text gets longer, because common words repeat, so it is most useful for comparing pieces of similar length.
No. Words are matched as they are written, so inflected forms count separately. That keeps the figure honest and predictable rather than depending on a stemming rule that would sometimes be wrong.
Usually yes. With case ignored, "The" at the start of a sentence and "the" in the middle are counted as one word, which is almost always what you want when measuring vocabulary.
Yes, a standalone number is treated as a word. If your text is full of figures and that is skewing the ratio, strip them first with the Remove Numbers tool.
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