This free AI token calculator shows how many tokens your text uses, as you type: paste a prompt, an email or a whole report and see the estimated tokens, words and characters. Add a price and a context window to see what it costs to send and how much of the model’s memory it fills.
Tokens are how AI models like ChatGPT and Claude measure text. Prices, usage limits and context windows are all counted in tokens, so knowing your count helps you keep prompts short, costs predictable and long documents inside the limit.
Free token calculator
How many tokens is your text?
Paste a prompt, an email or a whole document. You get the estimated tokens, words and characters as you type, what it would cost at the price you enter, and how much of a context window it fills.
See which paragraphs cost the most
Unlock the paragraph-by-paragraph breakdown, so you know exactly what to trim first.
Unlocked: the breakdown is above your text box now. You are also on the weekly HOW TO // AI newsletter.
Free. You also get the HOW TO // AI newsletter once a week. Unsubscribe any time.
How we estimate: about 4 characters per token for English, a common rule of thumb for most models. Newer Claude models (Opus 4.7 and later) count about 30% more tokens for the same text, per Anthropic's token counting docs (checked October 18, 2026). For an exact count, use the model maker's own tokenizer.
How to use the token calculator
- Paste or type your text. The counts update instantly, and nothing leaves your browser.
- Enter the price per million tokens from your model’s pricing page to see the cost, and how many times you’ll send it.
- Enter the model’s context window to see how much of it your text fills.
- Trim the longest paragraphs first if you’re over budget or near the limit.
What is a token?
A token is a chunk of text a model reads in one step. It can be a whole short word, part of a longer word, a number or a punctuation mark. For English, a common rule of thumb is about 4 characters per token, so 1,000 tokens is roughly 750 words. Other languages and code usually use more tokens for the same meaning.
Every model maker uses its own tokenizer, so the same text counts differently on different models. Anthropic says its newer Claude models (Opus 4.7 and later) count about 30% more tokens than earlier Claude models for the same text, so this calculator shows both numbers.
Tokens to words: quick reference
| Tokens | About this many English words | About this many pages |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 75 | A short paragraph |
| 1,000 | 750 | 1.5 pages |
| 10,000 | 7,500 | 15 pages |
| 100,000 | 75,000 | A short book |
These are estimates for plain English prose, at about 500 words a single-spaced page.
How to cut your token count
- Remove pleasantries and repetition. Models don’t need “please” or the same instruction twice.
- Send only what the model needs. Paste the relevant section, not the whole document.
- Summarize first. For long material you’ll reuse, summarize it once and send the summary.
- Reuse a short system prompt. A prompt you send thousands of times is where trimming saves the most money.
Want a tighter prompt without doing it by hand? Our free AI prompt improver rewrites a rough prompt into a clearer one.
Related on HOW TO // AI
- AI chatbot pricing compared: what ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot and Perplexity plans cost and include.
- Claude pricing and ChatGPT pricing: every plan, with usage limits.
- Free AI tools: more calculators and checkers like this one.
Checked against Anthropic’s token counting documentation on October 18, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How many words is 1,000 tokens?
About 750 words of plain English, using the common rule of thumb of about 4 characters per token. Other languages and code usually use more tokens for the same text.
Is this token count exact?
No. It is an estimate. Every model maker uses its own tokenizer, so the exact count differs by model. For an exact number, use the model maker's own tokenizer or token counting tool.
Why do newer Claude models count more tokens?
Anthropic says Claude Opus 4.7 and later models use a newer tokenizer that produces about 30 percent more tokens for the same text than earlier Claude models, so recount prompts on the model you plan to use.
Does my text get sent anywhere?
No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you paste is uploaded or stored.