How Many Words Per Page? Single & Double Spaced Estimates
The standard answer: a page holds roughly 500 words single-spaced or 250 words double-spaced, assuming 12-point Times New Roman with one-inch margins — the classic academic format. Here’s the full breakdown for every common assignment.
Words-to-pages quick reference
| Word count | Single-spaced pages | Double-spaced pages |
|---|---|---|
| 250 | 0.5 | 1 |
| 500 | 1 | 2 |
| 1,000 | 2 | 4 |
| 1,500 | 3 | 6 |
| 2,000 | 4 | 8 |
| 2,500 | 5 | 10 |
| 5,000 | 10 | 20 |
| 10,000 | 20 | 40 |
Writing something now? Paste it into the free Word & Character Counter to get an exact word, character and paragraph count in real time.
What changes the numbers
- Font. Arial runs slightly larger than Times New Roman; Verdana larger still. A 500-word page in Times becomes ~460 words in Verdana.
- Font size. Moving from 12pt to 11pt fits roughly 10% more words per page.
- Margins. Shrinking margins from 1” to 0.75” adds about 15% more words.
- Paragraph style. Many short paragraphs and dialogue (as in fiction) produce fewer words per page than dense academic prose.
Professors know all of these tricks, which is why most assignments now specify word counts instead of page counts.
Typical lengths by document type
- College essay: 500–1,500 words (2–6 pages double-spaced)
- Blog post: 1,000–2,000 words for informational content
- Short story: 1,500–7,500 words
- Academic paper: 3,000–8,000 words
- Non-fiction book chapter: 3,000–5,000 words
- Novel: 70,000–100,000 words (a 90,000-word novel is ~360 published book pages)
For books, publishers count ~250–300 words per printed page, since book pages are smaller than letter paper.
How long does it take to write or read?
Useful rules of thumb:
- Reading: average adults read 200–250 words per minute, so a 1,000-word article takes 4–5 minutes.
- Writing: first-draft prose flows at roughly 500–1,000 words per hour for most people; researched or technical writing can drop to 200–300.
- Speaking: speeches run ~130–150 words per minute — a 5-minute talk is about 700 words.
Frequently asked questions
How many words is a 5-page paper? About 2,500 single-spaced or 1,250 double-spaced.
Does the word count include references? Usually not — most academic word counts cover body text only. Check your style guide.
How do I hit a word count without padding? Add depth (examples, counter-arguments, data), not filler. Padding is obvious to any grader — an extra worked example never is.
Check your text’s exact count — words, characters, sentences and estimated reading time — with the free Word & Character Counter.