Words to pages
Assignments are set in pages; documents are written in words. This converts between them.
Your text stays in your browser.
Track a minimum or maximum word count.
Your text at a glance
Reading and speaking times are estimates.
Assignment goal
Set a minimum, a maximum, or both, and the progress bar appears here.
Paragraph balance
A page is not a unit of writing — it is a unit of layout. Change the font, the spacing or the margins and the same text takes a different number of pages.
This tool converts using the conventions that page-based assignments almost always assume, and lets you override them when your department has its own rules.
How this tool counts
The conversion assumes a 12-point serif face such as Times New Roman, one-inch margins, and no headings, figures or block quotes.
Under those assumptions: single-spaced is roughly 500 words per page, 1.5-spaced is roughly 333, and double-spaced is roughly 250. Double-spaced at 250 words is the figure most secondary and undergraduate assignments are built around.
Real documents contain headings, indented quotations, tables and a bibliography, and every one of those consumes vertical space without consuming words. Expect your real page count to run slightly ahead of the estimate — which is the safe direction to be wrong in.
A worked example
A 2,000-word essay, formatted three ways:
- Double-spaced (250 words/page)
- 8.0 pages
- 1.5 spacing (333 words/page)
- 6.0 pages
- Single-spaced (500 words/page)
- 4.0 pages
If the brief says "8 pages" and does not say the spacing, ask. The difference between the first and third row is the difference between passing and being sent back.
Frequently asked questions
How many words is a 5-page paper?
About 1,250 words double-spaced, or 2,500 single-spaced. Set your minimum to that number in the panel above and the progress bar will track you towards it.
Why do estimates vary between tools?
Because they assume different fonts and margins. A page of 11-point Calibri holds noticeably more than a page of 12-point Times New Roman at the same spacing.
Does the estimate include the title page and bibliography?
No. It converts the words you paste in. Title pages, reference lists and appendices are usually excluded from a page requirement anyway — check the brief.
My department gave me a page count and a font. What do I do?
Type a paragraph, format it as required in your word processor, and see how many words fill one page. Enter that as the words-per-page value here and the conversion becomes exact for your document.