Analyse letter usage
Letter frequency analysis is the classic way to crack substitution ciphers — in English, E, T and A are the most common letters, so the most frequent symbols in a coded message are probably those. Paste any text to see a table of counts, percentages and bars, next to the typical English frequency for each letter.
Count letters only, letters and digits, or every character; make it case-sensitive; and sort by frequency or alphabetically. Works with any language's letters.
How to count letter frequency
- 1
Paste your text
The longer the text, the more meaningful the result.
- 2
Choose what to count
Letters, letters + digits, or all characters.
- 3
Read the table
Sorted by frequency or A → Z.
Key features
Counts and percentages
For every character found.
Visual bars
Spot the most common letters at a glance.
English reference
Typical frequency for each letter.
Any script
Hindi and other alphabets are counted too.
Common uses
- Cryptography: Break simple substitution ciphers.
- Linguistics and teaching: Compare letter use across languages or authors.
- Word games: Study which letters are most useful.
Tips and good to know
- Short texts rarely match typical English frequencies; a few hundred words or more give a better picture.
- Decoding a Caesar or Vigenère cipher? Try the classic ciphers in the Text Decryption tool.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common letter in English?
E, making up about 12.7% of letters in typical English text, followed by T and A.
Can it count punctuation and symbols?
Yes. Choose All characters to include punctuation, symbols and digits. Spaces and line breaks are not counted.
Is it case-sensitive?
Only if you turn on Case-sensitive; otherwise A and a are counted together.