How Many Words Are on a Page? Typical Figures by Format

A page is not a fixed size

The number of words on a page depends on the size of the page, the size and style of the type, the spacing between lines and the margins. There is therefore no single correct answer. There are, however, standard settings that give a useful estimate.

For a typed document in 12-point Times New Roman with one-inch margins, a single-spaced page holds about 500 words and a double-spaced page about 250. Those are the figures students are usually given, and they are the basis of most word-count-to-page calculators.

What changes the number

Four settings account for most of the variation. A larger font size reduces the words per page, and a smaller one raises it. Wider line spacing reduces it. Wider margins reduce it. A wide font such as Verdana or Arial takes more room per word than a narrow one such as Times New Roman or Garamond.

Layout elements matter too. Headings, tables, images, bullet lists and block quotations use space without adding many words, and each paragraph break can leave a partly empty line.

Academic and business documents

Many universities ask for 12-point type, double spacing and one-inch margins, which means about 250 words per page. A five-page paper is therefore about 1,250 words, and a ten-page paper about 2,500. Check the instructions of the course, because some use different settings or count the title page and the bibliography.

Business documents are often single-spaced, so a page holds about 500 words. A one-page letter or memo is rarely more than that, and shorter paragraphs and a clear layout often reduce the figure to 350 or 400 words.

Books and printed pages

A printed book page holds fewer words than a typed A4 or Letter page, because the page is smaller and the margins are larger. A typical paperback page holds roughly 250 to 350 words, depending on the format and the type size. A children’s book can hold far fewer.

Publishers often estimate the length of a manuscript by words, not pages, because the layout is decided later. A common rule of thumb is that a novel of 80,000 words runs to roughly 300 pages, though the figure depends on the format of the printed book.

Web pages and screens

On a screen there is no fixed page. A web page can hold a few hundred words or many thousand, and the length is set by the content, not by a page size. Readers scroll, so a sensible text length depends on what the reader wants to do.

For online writing, many editors aim for a length that fully answers the question, with short paragraphs and clear headings. The word counter gives the length, and the reading-time figure tells you how long the visitor needs.

Languages differ

The figures above are for English. Languages with longer words, such as German, need more characters per word, so a page holds fewer words than in English. Languages written without spaces, such as Japanese and Chinese, are measured in characters rather than words, and a page holds many more characters than an English page holds letters.

If you translate a text, count the characters or words of the translation separately. Do not assume that the page count of the original will carry over.

Estimating a document you have not written

To plan a text, divide the target pages by the words per page. A 6-page paper at 250 words per page needs about 1,500 words. Add a margin of about ten per cent for headings and references, or aim for the middle of the range.

Count as you go and check against the plan at the end of each section. A text that is on track after the introduction is much easier to finish than one that has to be cut or stretched at the last minute.

Why word counts beat page counts

A page count depends on settings that anyone can change, while a word count does not. That is why publishers, journals and editors use words as the standard measure of length, and why most clear assignment briefs give both.

If a brief gives only pages, ask for the settings in writing. It prevents the common problem of a text that looks long on screen and turns out short on paper, or the other way round.

A worked example

You are asked for a six-page report, double-spaced, in 12-point type with one-inch margins. At about 250 words per page this is roughly 1,500 words. If the report includes a title page and a reference list that do not count, you need about 1,500 words of body text. If you add two figures that each take a third of a page, subtract about 170 words.

Paste your draft into the counter to see where you stand. If you are 100 words under, add one example. If you are 100 words over, remove a repeated point.

A quick checklist

• Which settings apply: font, size, spacing and margins?
• Are the title page, headings and references counted?
• Is the target given in words or pages?
• Have you counted the real text?

Use the estimates for planning, and use your word processor for the final page count.