Frequency counting with tab-separated output
The tool tallies each distinct item using a JavaScript `Map`, then emits one line per unique value with the count first, a tab character, then the item. That format pastes cleanly into a two-column spreadsheet (count in column A, item in column B) without any further munging.
Sort by Frequency (default) lists the most common item first, ties broken alphabetically for stability. Sort by Alphabetical orders A-Z by item name with the count along for the ride. Pick based on what question you are answering - "what is the most common?" vs "how often does X appear?".
Case sensitive (off) treats `Apple` and `apple` as the same item. Trim (on) strips whitespace before counting. Both are independent toggles. Blank lines are always skipped - empty items are not counted.
How to use find the most frequent items
- 1Paste your list into the input panel
- 2Toggle Case sensitive to distinguish case variants (default: off)
- 3Toggle Trim to normalise whitespace before counting (default: on)
- 4Pick Sort by: Frequency (default) or Alphabetical
- 5Output is `count<tab>item` per line - paste directly into a spreadsheet
Keyboard shortcuts
Drive ListShift without touching the mouse.
What this counter actually does
Map-based tally with three options.
Tab-separated `count<tab>item` output
Each line is the count followed by a tab character followed by the item text. Pastes cleanly into a two-column spreadsheet without any further parsing.
Frequency descending (default), alphabetical tiebreak
Default Sort by Frequency orders most-common first. When two items have the same count, they sort alphabetically for a stable, predictable order.
Case-insensitive counting by default
Case sensitive off means `Apple` and `apple` are the same item (and the first-seen casing is displayed). On treats them as distinct entries. Pick based on whether case is data or noise.
Trim-aware counting by default
With Trim on, `Apple` and ` Apple ` count as the same item. The first occurrence's original whitespace is not displayed - the trimmed version is.
Blank lines skipped
Empty or whitespace-only lines are not counted. You will not see an empty-string item in the output.
Worked example
Six input lines with three unique items - output sorted by frequency descending.
apple banana apple orange banana apple
3 apple 2 banana 1 orange
Settings reference
How each option shapes the frequency output.
| Setting | What it does | Effect on the sample |
|---|---|---|
| Sort by: Frequency (default) | Most common first, alphabetical tiebreak | `3\tapple` / `2\tbanana` / `1\torange` |
| Sort by: Alphabetical | A → Z by item name | `3\tapple` / `2\tbanana` / `1\torange` (same order in this sample) |
| Case sensitive: off (default) | `Apple`, `apple`, `APPLE` all count together | First-seen casing displayed |
| Trim: on (default) | Whitespace stripped before tallying | `Apple` and ` Apple ` collapse into one entry |