Letter Frequency Counter

Text

Ignore case

Letters only

Result

Character frequencyе: 4 (8.7%) а: 3 (6.52%) и: 3 (6.52%) к: 3 (6.52%) х: 3 (6.52%) с: 2 (4.35%) у: 2 (4.35%) б: 1 (2.17%) в: 1 (2.17%) г: 1 (2.17%) д: 1 (2.17%) ё: 1 (2.17%) ж: 1 (2.17%) з: 1 (2.17%) й: 1 (2.17%)
Most commonе — 4
Least commonя — 1
Distinct characters33
Counted in total46
Share of the most common, %8.7%

The basis of frequency analysis

Counts how often each letter appears in a text and what share of it every character occupies.

In English the commonest letter is 'e' at about twelve percent, followed by 't', 'a', 'o', 'i' and 'n'. In Russian the top spot goes to 'о' at around eleven percent, then 'е', 'а', 'и', 'н' and 'т'.

That stability is what makes frequency analysis work: if one letter in a cipher turns up twelve percent of the time, it is almost certainly 'e'. Simple substitution ciphers fall exactly this way.

What this calculator shows

A frequency table with each character's share
The commonest and rarest character
How many distinct characters were counted in total

What to keep in mind

By default case is ignored and only letters are counted; both are toggles.
Frequencies in a short text differ wildly from the language norm: a stable picture needs about a thousand characters.

FAQs

What is the commonest letter in English?

'E', at about 12 percent. Then 't', 'a', 'o', 'i' and 'n'.

What is frequency analysis for?

Breaking simple substitution ciphers, assessing text style, and problems like designing a keyboard layout.

How much text does a reliable profile need?

From about a thousand characters. On short phrases randomness outweighs the language statistics.

Are accented letters counted separately?

Yes, each distinct character is counted on its own. Texts that strip accents will therefore show a different profile.

Worked example

A pangram

Input: A sentence containing every letter of the alphabet

Output: A frequency table across every letter present

Note: A pangram deliberately contains every letter, so its frequency profile looks nothing like ordinary text. On real prose the top spot would go to 'e'.

Useful links

All tools in Text tools for word count, character count, and quick cleanup

Letter Frequency Counter

Result

Related tools

Word Frequency Counter

Caesar Cipher

Text Reverser

Useful links