The standard answer: one page is about 500 words single-spaced, or about 250 words double-spaced.
That assumes the usual school and office setup: 12-point Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, on US letter paper. Change the font, spacing or layout and the number changes too.
Pages to words
| Pages | Single-spaced | Double-spaced |
|---|---|---|
| ½ | 250 words | 125 words |
| 1 | 500 words | 250 words |
| 2 | 1,000 words | 500 words |
| 3 | 1,500 words | 750 words |
| 4 | 2,000 words | 1,000 words |
| 5 | 2,500 words | 1,250 words |
| 6 | 3,000 words | 1,500 words |
| 8 | 4,000 words | 2,000 words |
| 10 | 5,000 words | 2,500 words |
| 15 | 7,500 words | 3,750 words |
| 20 | 10,000 words | 5,000 words |
Words to pages
| Word count | Single-spaced | Double-spaced |
|---|---|---|
| 250 words | ½ page | 1 page |
| 300 words | 0.6 page | 1.2 pages |
| 500 words | 1 page | 2 pages |
| 750 words | 1.5 pages | 3 pages |
| 1,000 words | 2 pages | 4 pages |
| 1,500 words | 3 pages | 6 pages |
| 2,000 words | 4 pages | 8 pages |
| 2,500 words | 5 pages | 10 pages |
| 3,000 words | 6 pages | 12 pages |
| 5,000 words | 10 pages | 20 pages |
MLA and APA papers are double-spaced, so for most school essays use the double-spaced column. A 5-page essay is about 1,250 words; a 1,000-word essay is about 4 pages.
What changes the count
- Font. Arial, Verdana and other wide fonts fit fewer words per line than Times New Roman, so the same essay runs longer. Calibri 11, the default in older versions of Word, fits more.
- Paragraphs and dialogue. Every paragraph break leaves part of a line empty. Fiction with lots of dialogue can fit far fewer words on a page than a report.
- Headings, lists and title blocks. An MLA heading, a title and a works-cited page all take space without adding many words.
- Word length. Technical writing with long words fits fewer words per page than casual writing.
So treat 250 and 500 words per page as averages. Your actual pages can easily vary by 10–20%.
Typical lengths for common assignments
| Assignment | Typical length | Double-spaced pages |
|---|---|---|
| Common App personal essay | Up to 650 words | About 2½ |
| Scholarship or supplemental essay | 250–500 words | 1–2 |
| Cover letter | 250–400 words | Usually single-spaced, 1 page |
| High school essay | 500–1,500 words | 2–6 |
| College research paper | 2,500–5,000 words | 10–20 |
Always follow the exact limit in the assignment or application; these are just typical ranges.
Page limits vs word limits
When an assignment gives a word count, that's the number that matters. Page counts are easy to stretch with fonts and margins, and teachers notice slightly-too-big fonts and widened spacing quickly. When an assignment gives only a page count, write to the standard format and check the word count to make sure you're in the right range.
How long does it take to read?
At an average silent reading speed of about 238 words per minute, a 500-word page takes about two minutes to read, and a 2,500-word paper about 10 minutes. Reading aloud is slower; see how many words are in a speech.
Check your own document
Paste your text into the Word Counter to get the exact number of words, characters, sentences and paragraphs, plus reading and speaking time. If you have a strict character limit, for an application essay or a social post, use the Character Counter.
Frequently asked questions
How many pages is 1,000 words?
How many words is a 5-page essay?
How many paragraphs is 500 words?
Tools mentioned in this guide
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