How many words is a page? Different sources will give you different answers, and with good reason. It depends on the font size, margins, spacing, and other factors. But don’t worry – we’ll give you the closest estimate possible, tested with this very article!
How Many Words Is a Page? The Average Number of Words per Page
Before we consider all the factors that play into the final word count, let’s take a look at the averages. How many words is a page? Generally, you can expect that a page will have 500 words if it’s single-spaced, and 250 words if it’s double-spaced. Of course, this is a very general guideline – your specific page may be longer or shorter.
How Formatting Affects the Word Count of a Page
Now, let’s take a look at how different formatting choices can affect how many words are on a page.
- Font size: The smaller the font, the more words you can fit on a page.
- Font type: Some fonts are more compact than others. For example, Arial is bigger than Times New Roman.
- Margins: Wider margins will decrease how many words fit on a page.
- Line spacing: Single spacing will obviously allow you to fit more words on a page than double spacing.
- Paragraph structure: If your text is divided into many paragraphs, there will be less words on a page.
Now that we’ve seen how different formatting choices can affect the word count of a page, let’s put it to the test!
Checking the Page Count of This Article & Calculating the Words
If you need to write a one-page assignment or essay, how many words is a page? It depends on the structure, but if we take this very article as an example, a page would be 493 words if it were single spaced, with a font size of 12 points, and written in Arial.
If we were to use Times New Roman, this article (537 words) would only fill up one page if it were single spaced. With Calibri, the number of words fitting on a page is 496, and with Verdana, it’s as few as 423 words. With Courier New, our post takes up even more space in Microsoft Word and Google Docs – 394 words on a page.
However, if we double space this article, it takes up two pages, as only 244 words in Arial fit on a page. As you can see, the answer to how many words is a page can vary greatly depending on the font, spacing, and other factors. Keep all of this in mind the next time you’re wondering “How many words is a page?”!
How to Convert One Page Into Words Reliably?
Now that we know the estimated answer to the question “How many words is a page?”, how can you do a reliable calculation? You could copy a random text (or Lorem Ipsum) and change the font, spacing, and other formatting choices until it matches what you’re using. Then, trim (or lengthen) the text until it fills a page and paste it into an online word count calculator. Voila!