Free editable filler-word scan

Filler Word Counter

Paste your writing or a speech transcript to highlight filler words like "just," "really" and "you know," with a fully editable list and a live percentage.

Your text

Why count filler words

A few filler words are natural, but too many soften your point and make writing or speech feel less confident.

Tighten writing

Trimming words like "basically" and "essentially" often makes a sentence stronger without losing meaning.

Polish speech transcripts

Paste in a talk or interview transcript to spot verbal habits like "like" and "you know" before you edit it down.

Your list, your rules

Add or remove any word so the scan matches your own writing habits, not a fixed dictionary.

How to use the filler word counter

  1. Adjust the listRemove any default filler word or add your own in the panel.
  2. Paste your textDrop in a draft, transcript or email into the text box.
  3. Review the highlightsEvery filler match is marked inline as you type.
  4. Check your ratioSee the total count and what percentage of your words are filler.

About filler words

Filler words are the small words and stock phrases that pad out a sentence without carrying real meaning — "just," "really," "basically," "honestly," "you know." In speech they buy the speaker a split second to think; in writing they're usually just a habit that survives from a first draft. Neither is a grammar mistake, which is exactly why they're easy to overlook during a normal read-through and much easier to spot when every instance is highlighted at once. This tool defaults to a list of the fillers editors and speech coaches flag most often, but it deliberately doesn't lock that list down, because "filler" is partly a matter of your own writing voice; a technical writer might want to flag "essentially" and "basically" heavily, while someone polishing a conference talk cares more about "like" and "you know." The list you build stays saved in your browser between visits, so it adapts to you rather than the other way around. The percentage figure is the useful number to watch over time: a stray filler word here and there is normal and even conversational, but when filler words start making up several percent of a document, it's usually a sign the draft needs another editing pass, not just a word swap.

Editable by design

No fixed dictionary — you decide which words count as filler.

Saved locally

Your custom list persists in the browser for your next visit.

Track the trend

Watch your filler percentage drop as you revise a draft.

Filler word counter FAQ

What counts as a filler word?

Filler words are words and short phrases like just, really, actually, basically and you know that add little meaning and often get overused in writing or speech transcripts.

Can I customize the filler word list?

Yes. Remove any default word with its x button, or type your own word or short phrase into the add box and press Enter to include it in the scan.

Is my custom word list saved?

Your list is saved to your browser's local storage, so it stays customized the next time you open the tool on the same device.

How is the filler word percentage calculated?

It divides the total number of filler matches found by the total word count of your text, then shows that as a percentage.

Is this useful for speech transcripts, not just writing?

Yes. Paste a transcript of a talk, podcast or interview to spot verbal tics like "like" and "you know," alongside written fillers.

Try other writing tools

More free writing helpers from My Panda Toolbox.