Compare Line Counts - Lines, Words, Chars

Three numbers per side, plus a delta

The count comparison gives a structural overview rather than a content diff. The split between text A and text B is a line containing exactly ---. For each side the tool computes three numbers: line count (split on \r?\n), word count (regex \S+, so any non-whitespace run is a word), and character count (the raw .length).

Output is a tab-separated table. Header row is Metric  A  B  diff; each metric row shows A's count, B's count, and the signed difference B - A. A positive diff means B is larger; a negative diff means A is larger. Paste the result into a spreadsheet to keep the columns aligned.

Empty input on either side counts as zero lines, zero words, and zero characters. Word count uses non-whitespace runs, so punctuation attached to a word counts as part of that single token. For the actual content of the changed lines, use diff or find additions.

How to use compare line counts of two texts

1Paste text A into the input panel, then a line with ---, then paste text B.
2The four-row count table appears in the output panel: header plus Lines, Words, Chars.
3Click Copy to copy the table; the columns are tab-separated, ready for a spreadsheet.
4Read the diff column for the signed change B - A on each metric.
5For per-line content differences pivot to diff.

Keyboard shortcuts

Drive TextResult without touching the mouse.

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl` `F`	Open the find & replace panel inside the input Plus
`Ctrl` `Z`	Undo the last input change
`Ctrl` `Shift` `Z`	Redo
`Ctrl` `Shift` `Enter`	Toggle fullscreen focus on the editor Plus
`Esc`	Close find & replace, or exit fullscreen
`Ctrl` `K`	Open the command palette to jump to any tool Plus
`Ctrl` `S`	Save current workflow draft Plus
`Ctrl` `P`	Run a saved workflow Plus

How the counts are computed

Lines via `\r?\n`

Each side is split on \r?\n. Empty input counts as zero lines; otherwise the count is the number of segments produced by the split. CRLF and LF line endings both yield the same number.

Words via non-whitespace runs

Words are matched with the regex \S+, so anything between whitespace boundaries counts as one word. don't is a single word, and foo,bar is also a single word because there is no whitespace between the two halves.

Characters via raw length

Character count is the raw JavaScript .length, which is UTF-16 code units. Most Latin characters count as one each; emoji and astral codepoints count as two.

Signed diff column

The diff column shows B - A per row. Positive means B has more; negative means A has more; zero means matched.

Three-hyphen separator

The split between A and B is a line containing exactly ---. Without it the tool returns a prompt asking for two halves.

Worked example

Text B has one more line, one more word, and eight more characters than text A. To see what changed, switch to diff or find additions.

Input

alpha
bravo
---
alpha
bravo
charlie

Output

Metric	A	B	diff
Lines	2	3	1
Words	2	3	1
Chars	11	19	8

Settings reference

Behaviour	Effect on output
Separator	A line containing exactly `---` splits text A from text B.
Line counter	Splits on `\r?\n`; empty input is zero lines.
Word counter	Counts `\S+` matches; whitespace is the only delimiter.
Char counter	Raw JavaScript `.length` (UTF-16 code units).
Diff column	Signed value `B - A` per metric.
Output format	Tab-separated, four rows including the header.
Empty side	Counts as zero on every metric.

FAQ

Does the word counter use Unicode word boundaries?

No. It counts runs of non-whitespace, so punctuation attached to a word is part of that word and CJK without spaces will register as one large word. For Unicode word splitting use word set intersection, which uses \b\w+\b.

Why does my emoji count as two characters?

JavaScript strings are UTF-16. Emoji in the astral plane occupy two code units, so they contribute 2 to the character count. This matches the behaviour of "😀".length.

Is the trailing newline counted as a line?

A trailing newline produces an extra empty segment when split, which is counted as a line. Trim trailing whitespace if you want pure content lines.

How do I see which lines actually changed?

Pipe the same two halves into diff for a position-based view, or find additions for set-based new entries.

Can I copy the table into a spreadsheet?

Yes. Columns are tab-separated, so a paste into Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers splits cleanly into four columns.

Also known as

compare line counts count two texts lines words characters compare text statistics two texts document size compare line word char counter text metrics comparison side-by-side text counts