How many words is a page?
By M Alamgir Saeed · Updated
Your teacher asks for three pages, the job form wants 500 words, and you only know one of the two. Converting between pages and words is mostly a matter of spacing and font size. This guide gives the standard estimates, explains why they vary, and shows how long your text takes to read aloud or silently.
The quick answer
With a 12-point font such as Times New Roman or Arial and 1-inch margins, a double-spaced page holds about 250 to 300 words, and a single-spaced page about 500 to 600 words. These are the figures most schools and publishers have in mind when they talk about "pages".
| Pages | Double-spaced | Single-spaced |
|---|---|---|
| 1 page | 250-300 words | 500-600 words |
| 2 pages | 500-600 words | 1,000-1,200 words |
| 3 pages | 750-900 words | 1,500-1,800 words |
| 5 pages | 1,250-1,500 words | 2,500-3,000 words |
| 10 pages | 2,500-3,000 words | 5,000-6,000 words |
Why the number of words per page varies
A page is not a fixed amount of text. Four things change how much fits: the font, the font size, the line spacing and the margins. Arial is wider than Times New Roman, so the same essay runs slightly longer. Headings, short paragraphs, dialogue and bullet lists also leave white space and lower the count.
Because of this, many teachers and editors now give word counts instead of page counts. If you are given a page count, check which font, size and spacing are expected, and treat the table above as a guide rather than an exact rule.
Common writing lengths
Some limits come up again and again. The Common App personal essay for US college applications allows up to 650 words. Most short-answer questions on application forms ask for 150 to 300 words. A typical blog post is anywhere from 800 to 2,000 words, and a search engine shows roughly the first 155 to 160 characters of a page description and about 60 characters of a title.
- Short paragraph: 50 to 100 words.
- One double-spaced page: about 275 words.
- Common App personal essay: up to 650 words.
- Five-page essay, double-spaced: about 1,250 to 1,500 words.
How long does it take to read or say?
A large review of reading research found that adults read non-fiction silently at about 238 words per minute on average. Speaking is slower: around 150 words per minute is a comfortable pace for a talk or presentation. So a 1,000-word essay takes about four minutes to read and roughly seven minutes to present.
These are averages. Technical text, a second language or a nervous speaker all slow things down, so leave a margin if you are timing a speech.
| Words | Reading time (238 wpm) | Speaking time (150 wpm) |
|---|---|---|
| 250 | about 1 minute | about 1.5 minutes |
| 500 | about 2 minutes | about 3.5 minutes |
| 1,000 | about 4 minutes | about 7 minutes |
| 2,000 | about 8.5 minutes | about 13 minutes |
How to count your words
Paste your text into the Word Counter on this site. It shows words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, reading time and speaking time as you type, and it never uploads your text. Word processors such as Microsoft Word and Google Docs also have a built-in word count, usually under the Tools or Review menu.
If you need to cut words, look for filler phrases first: "in order to" becomes "to", "due to the fact that" becomes "because". The Readability Checker can then show you which long sentences are worth splitting.
Frequently asked questions
How many words is a 5-page essay?
About 1,250 to 1,500 words double-spaced, or 2,500 to 3,000 words single-spaced, with a 12-point font and 1-inch margins.
Does a title or reference list count towards the word count?
Usually not, but rules differ between schools and journals. Check the instructions, and if they are unclear, ask before you submit.
How many pages is 1,000 words?
About 2 pages single-spaced or 4 pages double-spaced.