UtilityBaseText Tools
AI Token Counter
Estimate how many tokens your text uses for an LLM, plus characters and words.
Updated July 10, 2026
How to use the ai token counter
- 1Paste or type your text into the box.
- 2Read the estimated token count.
- 3Check the character and word counts too.
- 4Trim the text if you're over a context limit.
Common uses
- Checking a prompt fits a model's context window
- Estimating API cost before a request
- Gauging the size of a document for an LLM
- Comparing prompt lengths
Frequently asked questions
What is a token?
A token is the unit a language model reads. It's often a whole common word, but longer or rarer words split into several tokens, and punctuation and spaces count too. Context windows and API pricing are both measured in tokens, which is why counting them matters.
How accurate is the estimate?
It uses the common rule of about four characters per token for typical English, which is a good ballpark. The exact number depends on the specific model's tokenizer, and code, other languages, and unusual formatting tokenize differently. For an exact count, run your text through the model's own tokenizer.
Why do I need to count tokens?
To stay within a model's context window (the maximum tokens it can handle at once) and to estimate cost, since API usage is billed per token. Checking a long prompt or document before sending it avoids truncation and surprise bills.
About this tool
The AI token counter estimates how many tokens a piece of text will use in a large language model like ChatGPT or Claude, alongside live character and word counts. Language models read tokens — chunks that are often a whole common word but can be a fragment of a rarer one — and both context limits and pricing are measured in them. The estimate uses the widely published rule of about four characters per token for English. It's an approximation; the exact count depends on the model's tokenizer. Everything is counted locally in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
Like most tools on UtilityBase, the ai token counter runs entirely in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded or stored on a server. It's free to use with no account required. Browse more text tools here.
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