texcount

texcount [-brief] [-sub] [-html] [options] files

texcount counts words in LaTeX documents by properly parsing TeX syntax rather than counting all whitespace-separated tokens. It distinguishes between text words, header words, caption words, and mathematical formulas, providing accurate counts that exclude macro names and formatting commands.The -sub option breaks down counts by section, chapter, or other structural elements, which is useful for tracking progress on individual parts of a document. Multiple files can be processed together with -merge, and -inc follows \\input and \\include directives to count included files. Output formats include plain text, HTML, and verbose mode showing how each word was classified.

-brief

Short output.

Subcounts by section.

HTML output.

Merge file counts.

Verbose output.

Include input files.

LaTeX specific. Custom macros may confuse. Perl required.

TeXcount was created to provide accurate word counts for LaTeX documents by properly parsing TeX syntax.

wc(1), latex(1), detex(1)