How Many Words Per Page? (Double-Spaced, 12pt, Times New Roman)

The short answer: about 250 words per double-spaced page in 12pt Times New Roman with 1-inch margins. Single-spaced, that same page holds roughly 500 words.

That's the rule your professor is using when they assign "a 5-page paper." But the real number shifts the moment you change the font, the size, the spacing, or the margins. Here's how each lever moves the count.

The Standard Baseline

Most college style guides (MLA, APA, Chicago) assume the same setup:

• Font: Times New Roman, 12pt
• Spacing: Double (2.0 line spacing)
• Margins: 1 inch on all sides
• Paper: US Letter (8.5 x 11 in)

Under those settings, expect:

• Double-spaced: ~250 words/page
• 1.5 spacing: ~330 words/page
• Single-spaced: ~500 words/page

So when a syllabus says "5-7 pages double-spaced," you're really being asked for 1,250 to 1,750 words. If you can hit a word count, you can hit a page count.

How Font Changes the Number

Not every 12pt font takes up the same space. The width of each character (the "set width") differs between typefaces, even at the same point size.

Rough word counts per double-spaced page, 12pt, 1-inch margins:

Courier New is a monospaced font, which is why it eats so much space. Garamond is narrow, which is why it fits more words per page. If you're trying to hit a page count without hitting the word count, professors notice. They've seen every trick.

How Font Size Changes It

Going up or down a single point matters more than you'd think.

• 10pt Times New Roman, double-spaced: ~370 words/page
• 11pt: ~300 words/page
• 12pt: ~250 words/page
• 13pt: ~215 words/page
• 14pt: ~190 words/page

Bumping from 12pt to 14pt adds about 30% more pages for the same essay. Going from 12 to 11 strips out roughly 20%.

How Spacing Changes It

Line spacing is the single biggest factor after font size.

• Single (1.0): ~500 words/page
• 1.15 (Word's default): ~430 words/page
• 1.5: ~330 words/page
• Double (2.0): ~250 words/page
• 2.5: ~200 words/page

If your assignment says "double-spaced," set it to exactly 2.0 in the paragraph dialog. Word's default of 1.15 with "Add space after paragraph" turned on is not double spacing, no matter what it looks like on screen.

How Margins Change It

The 1-inch standard isn't arbitrary. It's what MLA and APA both call for. Widening margins shrinks your text area and your word count.

• 1-inch margins: ~250 words/page (baseline)
• 1.25-inch margins: ~225 words/page
• 1.5-inch margins: ~195 words/page

Wider margins are another tell. Going from 1 inch to 1.25 inches gives you an extra page roughly every 10 pages of writing.

A Worked Example

You've got a paper assignment: 1,500 words, double-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman, 1-inch margins.

• 1,500 ÷ 250 = 6 pages

Now your roommate's assignment is "6 pages, single-spaced, 11pt Arial." Same page count, very different writing job:

• 11pt Arial single-spaced ≈ 600 words/page
• 6 × 600 = 3,600 words

Same "6 pages." More than double the work.

Handwritten Pages

If you're handwriting (a blue book exam, a journal assignment), the math changes again. The average handwritten page holds 150 to 250 words, depending on how big you write. College-ruled paper averages around 250 words per page if your handwriting is normal-sized.

Quick Reference for Common Assignments

• 500-word essay: 2 pages double-spaced, 1 page single-spaced
• 1,000-word essay: 4 pages double-spaced, 2 pages single-spaced
• 2,500-word paper: 10 pages double-spaced, 5 pages single-spaced
• 5,000-word paper: 20 pages double-spaced, 10 pages single-spaced

The Honest Advice

Write to the word count, not the page count. Page counts vary with every setting. Word counts don't. If your professor gives you both, the word count is the real target. Hit that, and the page count works itself out, assuming you used the formatting they asked for.

Count your words →