Filler word tools, ranked

Best Filler Word Counter in 2026

The best filler word counter in 2026 depends on how you want to count. For live rooms, meetings, and Toastmasters Ah-Counter duty, speaking.app has a free manual tap counter that runs in any browser, works offline, and tracks multiple speakers. For your own speaking, speaking.app also counts fillers automatically on every recorded practice, tied to a transcript so you see each um in context. Yoodli, Speeko, and Orai count fillers too, as one metric inside broader coaching apps.

See the full list
At a glance
  1. 1.speaking.appBoth (live manual tap + recorded analysis)
  2. 2.YoodliBoth (recorded + live in-call)
  3. 3.SpeekoRecorded
  4. 4.OraiRecorded
  5. 5.A plain tally counterLive (manual tap)

Reviewed July 2026

speaking.app publishes this roundup and is one of the tools listed. We have tried to be straight about where it wins and where another tool is the better pick. Here is how we evaluated.
01

speaking.app

Our toolBoth (live manual tap + recorded analysis)

A free manual tap counter for live rooms, plus automatic filler counts on every recorded practice.

Best for counting fillers both ways: live Ah-Counter duty in a meeting, and automatic counts with a transcript on your own practice.

  • The free manual counter is built for the Toastmasters Ah-Counter role: tap per filler, switch between speakers, share a clean report afterward, and keep counting even when the connection drops.
  • Every recorded practice counts fillers automatically and ties them to a transcript, so you see which words you lean on and where they cluster.
  • The free tier is real practice, not a trial: impromptu and interview sessions with filler and pace feedback, plus a transcript, no credit card.
  • Filler counts sit inside a fuller delivery read: pace, weak words, pauses, intonation, and uptalk, given as plain-language coaching notes, never a numeric score.
  • Nothing joins your live meetings. Automatic counting happens on practice you record; a live room stays a manual count.
  • Uploading an existing recording for automatic analysis requires Pro.
Free: the manual counter, plus impromptu and interview practice with automatic filler counts. Pro ($19.99/mo or $99.99/yr) adds framework rewrites, rhetorical-device detection, full speech and pitch analysis, and uploads.Full comparison
02

Yoodli

Both (recorded + live in-call)

An AI roleplay and speech coaching platform that counts fillers and measures pacing on roleplays and uploaded recordings.

Best for people who want filler tracking alongside AI roleplay and live-call coaching, especially on a team already using it.

  • Counts fillers and measures pacing on recorded and uploaded speech, with content feedback alongside the delivery numbers.
  • Live coaching inside Zoom, Meet, and Teams calls, plus interactive AI roleplays.
  • Serious enterprise footing: dashboards, custom scenarios and rubrics, SSO, and SCIM/LMS provisioning.
  • The free tier caps AI roleplays at five lifetime sessions, so the interactive practice runs out fast, though uploads and their filler feedback keep working.
  • Yoodli covers a lot of ground, from AI roleplay to live meeting coaching to enterprise features, so solo speaking practice is a small part of what it does.
  • On the cheaper individual paid tier, session data may be used for AI training unless you upgrade.
Limited free tier, plus paid individual plans and custom enterprise pricing.Full comparisonVisit site
03

Speeko

Recorded

An Apple-first AI speech coach that tracks fillers as one of its delivery metrics.

Best for Apple users (iPhone, iPad, Mac) who want filler tracking inside a daily practice habit with a full curriculum.

  • Fillers get their own metric, with a timeline graph and a transcript view, so you can see where they land.
  • Native apps on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro, built around short daily sessions.
  • Goes well beyond counting: 1,000+ exercises and on-demand courses, daily warm-ups, and lessons from voice coach Roger Love.
  • The web app requires a paid Speeko Pro plan and the Android app is still early, so the full free experience really lives on Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac).
  • The permanently free version covers basic insights, and its exact limits are not published.
Free version plus a paid subscription and a one-time lifetime purchase; a business tier is sold separately.Visit site
04

Orai

Recorded

A mobile-first AI speaking coach with gamified lessons that counts filler words after each recording.

Best for beginners who want a lesson-by-lesson curriculum with a filler count after every recording.

  • Counts specific fillers like um, you know, and basically, with transcripts, playback, and progress tracking.
  • Gamified micro-lessons on pacing, fillers, energy, and clarity, personalized to your level.
  • Video mode adds facial-expression feedback, a visual signal speaking.app does not analyze.
  • Feedback centers on delivery metrics; third-party reviewers note little support for the content of your talk.
  • Its own pricing page advertises a 7-day free trial rather than a clearly stated permanent free plan.
Free trial plus paid subscription options, with per-seat pro pricing and custom enterprise plans.Visit site
05

A plain tally counter

Live (manual tap)

A physical clicker, or a basic tap-counter app from the app store: one count, zero setup.

Best for a room where you want a raw count, nothing recorded, and no analysis afterward.

  • Works instantly, anywhere, with no account and no screen time beyond a tap.
  • Nothing is recorded, which some meetings require.
  • One number and no context: no transcript, no per-word breakdown, no history.
  • Accuracy depends entirely on the listener staying focused for the whole speech.
  • Tracking several speakers, or separating um from like, means juggling several counts by hand.
Free or a few dollars, one time.

The method

How we evaluated

  • Counting first: whether the tool actually counts filler words, by automatic detection on audio, by manual tap, or both.
  • Context: whether the count comes with a transcript, a per-word breakdown, and a trend over time, or just a total.
  • Where it works: live meetings and club roles, solo rehearsal on a laptop or phone, and recordings you already have.
  • What you get free: the counting you can do before paying anything.
  • Facts are based on each vendor's public product and pricing pages as of July 2026.
Best Filler Word Counter in 2026: summary
ToolBest forFeedbackPrice
1. speaking.appBest for counting fillers both ways: live Ah-Counter duty in a meeting, and automatic counts with a transcript on your own practice.Both (live manual tap + recorded analysis)Free: the manual counter, plus impromptu and interview practice with automatic filler counts. Pro ($19.99/mo or $99.99/yr) adds framework rewrites, rhetorical-device detection, full speech and pitch analysis, and uploads.
2. YoodliBest for people who want filler tracking alongside AI roleplay and live-call coaching, especially on a team already using it.Both (recorded + live in-call)Limited free tier, plus paid individual plans and custom enterprise pricing.
3. SpeekoBest for Apple users (iPhone, iPad, Mac) who want filler tracking inside a daily practice habit with a full curriculum.RecordedFree version plus a paid subscription and a one-time lifetime purchase; a business tier is sold separately.
4. OraiBest for beginners who want a lesson-by-lesson curriculum with a filler count after every recording.RecordedFree trial plus paid subscription options, with per-seat pro pricing and custom enterprise plans.
5. A plain tally counterBest for a room where you want a raw count, nothing recorded, and no analysis afterward.Live (manual tap)Free or a few dollars, one time.

Based on each vendor's public product and pricing pages, reviewed July 2026. Details change; check the vendor's site for current terms.

Try it right now

Find your default filler

“Record two minutes on something you know cold, like the project you are working on right now. Do not fight the fillers; just talk. Then read the count. Most people lean on one or two specific fillers, and naming yours is the first fix.”

2 minutes

Common questions

How do I count filler words in a speech?

Two ways. Live, a listener taps a counter each time they hear um, uh, like, or you know; the free counter at speaking.app is built for this and tracks multiple speakers, which is exactly the Toastmasters Ah-Counter job. After the fact, record the speech and let a tool count fillers from the transcript; speaking.app does this automatically on every practice session, so you see each filler in context instead of just a total.

What counts as a filler word?

The classic sounds are um, uh, and er, plus words used as padding: like, you know, so, actually, basically, right. What makes a word filler is the job it does, buying time without adding meaning. speaking.app counts fillers separately from weak words such as kind of and sort of, which soften your point rather than pad it.

How many filler words per minute is too many?

There is no agreed cutoff, and natural speech with zero fillers is rare. Listeners mostly notice fillers when they cluster: opening every sentence with so, or filling every pause with um. A better goal than a specific number is a downward trend across sessions, with silence doing the work the fillers used to do.

Do filler word counters work in live meetings?

Manual counters do: you tap as you listen, nothing is recorded, and the count is done when the meeting is. Automatic counters need audio, so most work on recordings; a few tools, like Yoodli, also coach live inside virtual calls. speaking.app does not join live meetings. You count live rooms by hand and get automatic counts on your recorded practice.

Does counting filler words actually help you stop saying them?

Counting alone rarely fixes the habit, but it does the two things a fix needs: it tells you which filler you lean on, and it shows whether you are improving. The fix is replacing the filler with a pause, and that takes reps. Short, timed practice like impromptu prompts is the fastest way to get those reps, because every session hands you a fresh count.

Keep exploring

More from speaking.app

Free filler word counterImpromptu speaking practiceSpeaking concept libraryPricing

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