Cover Letter Word Counter & Checker

The counter measures four things at once. Word count is compared against the 250-400 band that hiring managers consistently name as their preference. Reading time is calculated at 200 words per minute, the speed people read attentively on screen. Sentence and paragraph counts reveal structure — three or four paragraphs is right, one giant block is not. And the average sentence length tells you whether the letter reads easily or has to be re-read.

Anything over 25 words in a single sentence is listed back to you, longest first. Those sentences are almost always two ideas joined with "and" or "which", and splitting them is the single fastest improvement most letters can get. The cliché check catches the openings and phrases that appear in a large share of applications: "To whom it may concern", "I am writing to apply", "team player", "proven track record".

Short enough to be read in full, long enough to prove something. In practice that means 250-400 words, laid out like this:

• Opening (40-60 words): the role, and the single strongest reason you fit it. No preamble.
• Proof (80-120 words): one achievement that maps directly onto their biggest requirement, with a number in it.
• Fit (60-100 words): why this employer rather than any employer — something specific you could not copy into another application.
• Close (20-40 words): a direct, confident next step.

If you go over, the cuts are usually easy to find: sentences that restate your CV word for word, a paragraph of praise for the company that names nothing specific, and any sentence beginning "I believe I would be".

Length is the easy half. The harder half is whether the letter says anything your resume does not. A letter that paraphrases your work history adds nothing; a letter that explains a career change, a gap, or why one specific project makes you right for this team earns its place in the application.

When the structure needs more than an edit, start again from a tailored draft: our free AI cover letter generator reads the job description and your CV and produces a letter already in the right shape and length. And because the letter is only ever read alongside the resume, check that your CV passes the ATS before you send either — a strong letter attached to an unreadable resume still ends the application. If the resume itself needs work, rebuild it in the free resume builder so both documents match in tone and layout.