How Many Words in a Page

The number of words on a single page is based on many factors, like font size, font style, line spacing, and additional content. Secondly, it also depends on the paper size and format, like if it’s a magazine, newspaper, letter, or more. Nevertheless, if you want to go into detail about the exact words on a single page in different paper formats, below is just the article for you. 

How Many Words in a Page?

Let’s start off by considering that a page is full of plain text only, meaning there’s no change in the formatting. We’ll go with the average calculation of words in a sentence, paragraphs, and the total number of words on a page. 

We’re going to set the average number of words in a sentence as 20. Similarly, a typical paragraph has an average of 4 sentences. So, by multiplying four sentences by 20 words, we get 80 words in a single paragraph. 

A standard-sized page of 8.5” x 11” (A4) size with a single or 1.15 line spacing can fit up to 6 or 7 paragraphs. So, we’re going to multiply an average of 6 paragraphs by 80 words per paragraph. Here’s an easy-to-grasp graph of the calculation: 

One sentence: 20 (average word count)

Average paragraph: 4 sentences (4 x 20 = 80 words) 

Average paragraph count on one page: 6 

Total no. of words on a page: 6 (paragraphs) x 80 (words) = 480 words

However, a single page can have a difference in the number of words depending on multiple factors. All related to the formatting style, some distinguishing elements are line spacing, margin sizes, font size, and media content. 

Line Spacing 

Line Spacing refers to the amount of gaps/space between the sentences and it makes the most difference regarding words on a single page. We learned that a page full of plain text with 1.15 line spacing is 480 words. But, if we change the line spacing to single, i.e., 1.0, we get up to 600 words on one page. The word count can increase if there are no paragraph breaks. 

Similarly, if we were to use double line spacing, i.e., 2.0, there’ll be up to 300 to 320 words on a single page. 

Margin Sizes 

Margins are the pointers from where your sentences begin and end. It helps you align your document appropriately. There are several margin size choices, like normal, narrow, wide, and custom. Let’s see how it changes the total number of words on one page: 

Font Size and Style 

The font in your document is another important factor in determining the number of words on one page. There are several fonts that take up less or more space based on their style and the size you set. 

Some formats, like a novel, might need a font size of anywhere from 12 pt to 14 pt. Similarly, a magazine may need a font size of 8 pt or 12 pt. Let’s take a closer look: 

Media, Icons, Shapes 

Besides the elements, like line spacing, margin sizes, font size, and such, there are additional factors, like images, charts, icons, or shapes. Considering you want to add those contents, the number of words on a page will reduce accordingly. On average, additional content on a page may cause a difference of around 100 or more words. 

How Many Words in a Page on a Book?

Our calculation above for the number of words on a page may differ when it comes to books. This is because several genres of books, like fiction, thriller, and novels come with different paper sizes and standard font sizes. Let’s see how different books have how many words on a single page.