---
title: "How Many Words Per Page? Chart for Books and Essays"
description: "A single-spaced page holds about 500 words and a double-spaced page about 250. See words per page for books and essays, and a word count to pages chart."
canonical: https://speedreadtest.com/words-per-page
language: en
updated: 2026-11-06
---

# How Many Words Are on a Page?

Words per page for documents, essays and books, and how to convert a word count into pages.

Updated November 6, 2026 by the SpeedReadTest team

**A page holds about 500 words single-spaced or 250 words double-spaced**, in 12-point type with 1-inch margins. A typical paperback page holds about 250 to 300 words.

[Test your reading speed →](https://speedreadtest.com/)

## Words Per Page by Type

| Type of page | Words per page |
| --- | --- |
| Large-print or children’s book | About 200 |
| Double-spaced document | About 250 |
| Typical paperback | About 300 |
| Textbook or academic book | About 450 |
| Single-spaced document | About 500 |

These are rules of thumb. The real number depends on the font, type size, margins and how much dialogue or how many headings the page has. A page of short dialogue can hold half as many words as a page of solid text. To get an exact figure for a book, count the words on three full pages and take the average.

## Word Count to Pages Chart

| Words | Single-spaced | Double-spaced |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 250 | 0.5 | 1 |
| 500 | 1 | 2 |
| 1,000 | 2 | 4 |
| 1,500 | 3 | 6 |
| 2,000 | 4 | 8 |
| 3,000 | 6 | 12 |
| 5,000 | 10 | 20 |
| 10,000 | 20 | 40 |

## What Changes the Number of Words on a Page

-   **Line spacing:** double spacing halves the words on a page.
-   **Font and size:** a wide font or a larger size fits fewer words.
-   **Margins and page size:** a small paperback holds far fewer words than a letter-size sheet.
-   **Layout:** dialogue, headings and images all leave more white space.

Once you know the word count, you can see [how long it takes to read](https://speedreadtest.com/how-long-to-read), for example [100 pages](https://speedreadtest.com/how-long-to-read/100-pages) or [200 pages](https://speedreadtest.com/how-long-to-read/200-pages), or [how long it takes to say](https://speedreadtest.com/speech-length).

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How many words are on a page?

About 500 words on a single-spaced page and 250 on a double-spaced page, in 12-point type with 1-inch margins. A typical paperback holds about 250 to 300 words per page.

### How many pages is 2,500 words?

About 5 pages single-spaced or 10 pages double-spaced, in 12-point type with 1-inch margins.

### How many words is a 5-page paper?

About 1,250 words double-spaced or 2,500 words single-spaced. Most college papers are double-spaced, so 1,250 is the usual figure.

## Related

-   [How long to read anything](https://speedreadtest.com/how-long-to-read)
-   [Reading time calculator](https://speedreadtest.com/tools/reading-time-calculator)
-   [Book reading time calculator](https://speedreadtest.com/tools/book-reading-time)
-   [Speech length chart](https://speedreadtest.com/speech-length)