Determining Word Count
Determining word count is easy thanks to a multitude of automated tools available online and in software programs. This article is part of our writing tools section. It provides links to word count tools and software help pages. We also help you find answers to frequently asked word count questions, like how many pages is X many words?How Many Pages is X Many Words?
The exact answer to this question depends on several factors that make a precise answer impossible. Your font choice, font size, margins, paragraph lengths and spacing can make the number of words on a page vary. You are pretty safe going with about 250 words per double spaced page with a 12 point commonly used font. The site 750 Words is named for 750 words being about 3 pages in length.
Using 250 words per page will get you pretty close to the correct number. Tools like Convert Words to Page enable you to get a more accurate estimate. If you use an Arial font, double spacing and 12 point font size here is what you get for several word count variations:
- 500 words ... 1.8 pages
- 750 words ... 2.7 pages
- 1000 words ... 3.7 pages
- 2000 words ... 7.3 pages
Finding the Word Count in Popular Software Packages
You should be able to quickly find the word count somewhere on the tool bar or menu. In Microsoft Word you can see it as you type in the bottom of the Word window. Word will also count pages, paragraphs, lines and individual characters. Microsoft has a word count help page for its many different versions here.
With Google Docs word count can be found by click "Tools" and the clicking "Word Count." This count includes your header, footer and footnotes. Google has an explanation here in its Support section.
Online word counters are also useful for quickly determining how long a story or article you are working on is. You can paste in your text and get an instant count. We have listed some helpful online word counters below as well as some links to word count support pages for top writing software programs.
Online Word Counters Word Processor Word Count Help Pages
- Apple iWork: Word Count Help
- Microsoft Word: Word Count Help
- Google Docs: Word Count Help
- LibreOffice Word Count
- Scrivener Word Counts
- Word Online: Word Count