With four years of writing essays and almost a year writing this blog, I have had plenty of time to amass an arsenal of helpful writing websites.

All of these websites are free to use and enjoy. And when I say free, I mean free. No “freemium” version or locking you out after a few uses. These are all completely free websites that I have used to improve my writing and editing. And if there are premium versions, the best qualities of the resource are not hidden behind a paywall.

None of these websites are sponsors, I just wanted to share the best websites I use when writing. Also, many of the creators of these websites accept donations, so if any of these have helped you, I highly recommend donating.

Websites for writers

Word Counter

With Word Counter, copy and paste your text to see an array of stats about your writing: word count, character count, reading level, reading and speaking time, and word density. This was a lifesaver in college when I had a presentation and had to speak for a certain amount of time. Even though Word and Google Docs have built-in word counters, I always come back to this website because of its word density counter, which shows your most used words in a piece.

Hemingway Editor

Love the simple, modern writing style of Ernest Hemingway? The Hemingway Editor analyzes any text to point out overly complex sentences, wordy phrases, and adverbs. Simply copy and paste your text into the site and it will highlight words and phrases that could be either cut or trimmed down to match Hemingway’s austere style. This is a great resource if you tend to ramble on and construct meandering sentences. But at times, its austerity can be constricting, so use it wisely.

WriteTrack

WriteTrack is a free website that helps you track your writing progress. Just enter your word goal and your time frame, and WriteTrack will automatically track how many words you need to write a day. After adding your daily progress, WriteTrack automatically updates the daily word goal for the rest of the time frame. This is such a simple website that takes the guessing and constant math out of figuring out how many pages you have to write every day.

Libby

I’ve touted the beauty of Libby before, and I shall do it again! Libby is a digital library catalog service used by many libraries. Users can borrow audiobooks and e-books from their local library by signing in with their library card. For writers who read voraciously, this is a must to not go bankrupt. I use Libby all of the time with my Kindle, and it is an absolutely amazing service for readers and writers alike.

Classroom Timers

I have used this website since high school, and I swear by it when you need to stay motivated. Especially during college, I would block out times during the day strictly for writing or editing a paper, and Classroom Timers helped me do that. They have a variety of fun visual timers to keep you focused as you hit your daily writing goal. My favorite timer is the candle one because it is so calming and provides a great visual for how much time I have left to write.

WordHippo

There is nothing worse than being stuck in the middle of a sentence because you CANNOT think of a word. But WordHippo is here to help. You can find the opposite of, words that rhyme, an exact word in example sentences, and more. Its design is not as sleek as Dictionary.com or Thesaurus.com, but it has a handful of great resources for finding that perfect word.

Notion

Notion is a free note program for mobile and desktop with so many different features. I use Notion for planning my blog schedule and my novel plotting. I am terrible at making templates and pages, but there are so many kind people who have provided free templates. For the scattered writer, Notion is a great resource that allows you to structure everything and write it down so you don’t forget.

I’m sure I am forgetting a few, so if you have an absolute favorite website, comment below!