Essay word counter
Drop your essay or paste it: the reference list, appendices and footnotes are left out from the start, and you can take in-text citations out too. Set your word limit to see how far you are from it.
Drop documents here
Word (.docx, .doc), Pages, PDF, ODT, RTF, TXT, Markdown or HTML, up to 50 MB each and 100 at a time. Read on this device; never uploaded.
- Choose or drop a file.
- Switch off the parts you do not want.
- Read the count, the sections and the pages.
Words that count toward your limit
0
Drop a file or paste text to start.
Set the word limit of your assignment.
- Characters
- 0
- Without spaces
- 0
- Sentences
- 0
- Paragraphs
- 0
- Reading time
- 0 s
- Speaking time
- 0 s
- Pages (estimate)
- 0.0
- Times New Roman 12 pt, double-spaced, US Letter
Page settings
1-inch margins. Reading at 238 and speaking at 183 words per minute. How pages are estimated
What the essay counter leaves out from the start
| Part | Default | How it is found |
|---|---|---|
| Reference list or bibliography | Left out | Starts at a heading such as References, Bibliography or Works Cited |
| Appendices | Left out | Starts at a heading that begins with Appendix |
| Footnotes and endnotes | Left out | Notes of a Word or OpenDocument file, Markdown notes, small type at the foot of a PDF page |
| In-text citations | Counted | (Smith, 2019), Smith (2019), (Smith 45), [3] |
| Headings, tables, captions | Counted | Heading styles; table cells; Caption style or “Figure 1.” |
| Headers and footers | Left out | Running heads, page numbers |
These defaults follow the usual rule of university library guides: the reference list is not counted and in-text citations are (University of Hull; Lancaster University). Rules vary between courses and publishers, so check your handbook and set the switches to match it.
Does the reference list count toward the word limit?
Usually not. University library guides, such as Hull’s, say the reference list or bibliography at the end is not included in the word count, and that in footnote-based referencing styles the footnotes are not included either. There are exceptions, so the course handbook or the person setting the work has the last word. Here the reference list starts at a heading called References, Bibliography, Works Cited or Reference List and ends at the next heading of the same level.
Do in-text citations count?
In most courses they do: Hull’s guide says the citations in brackets are included, and Lancaster’s says you usually will not have to exclude them, although its postgraduate research regulations do. That is why citations stay in the count unless you switch them off. When you do, only text shaped like a citation is removed: an author and a year in brackets, a year after an author’s name, a name and a page number, or a number in square brackets. Every citation found is listed, so you can check it.
Are appendices, tables and captions counted?
Appendices are left out from the start, from a heading that begins with Appendix to the next heading of its level. Tables, captions and headings stay in, because rules differ on them more than on anything else; each has its own switch. A caption is a paragraph in Word’s Caption style or one that starts like “Figure 1.” or “Table 2:”.
How do I see the words in each part of my essay?
The table of sections lists every heading with the words under it that count, and marks the reference list and appendices as left out. Use it to balance an introduction against the discussion, or to check a report with a limit for each section. In pasted text, a short line without a full stop followed by a paragraph is taken as a heading.
Questions about essay word counts
Are my files uploaded anywhere?
No. The file is opened by your browser with the File API and read on your device: Word and OpenDocument files are unzipped in the page, PDFs are read by PDF.js running in the page. Nothing is sent to a server, stored or put in the address bar, so closing the tab clears it. You can check this by opening a file with your network switched off.
Is a margin over the word limit allowed?
That depends on your course: some allow a margin, many do not, and some apply a penalty past the limit. Type the limit you were given; the bar turns amber near it and red past it, and the line under it says how many words you have to spare or to cut.
Does the essay title count?
A title in Word’s Title or Heading style is counted as a heading, and the Headings switch leaves all headings out at once. Some guides exclude the title page; if yours does, switch headings off or remove the title before counting.
Why does Word show a different number?
Word counts the reference list, appendices and citations, and leaves text boxes and notes out unless you tick its box. Turn on References, Appendices, Text boxes, Footnotes and Endnotes here to compare. Word also saves its own count in the file, and when you drop a .docx it is shown next to this one.
Can I count several essays at once?
Yes, up to 100 files. The same switches apply to all of them, and the table of files downloads as a CSV with the counted words, the words in each file, the estimated pages and the reading time.
How long would it take to read my essay aloud?
Speaking time uses 183 words per minute and reading time 238, the average adult rates for reading aloud and reading non-fiction silently found in a 2019 review of reading studies. They are shown for the words that count.
More ways to count
- Document word countDrop DOCX, PDF, ODT or text files: counts by part, section and page.
- DOCX word countA Word file counted part by part, next to the count Word saved.
- PDF word countWords per page, without running headers, page numbers or split words.
- Words to pagesPages from a word count or a file, by font, size and spacing.
- How we countWhat a word is, which parts count, and why tools disagree.
Sources and limits of the count
- Is my list of references included in my word count?
The reference list or bibliography is not included in the word count; in-text citations are included; in footnote-based styles the footnotes are not included. There may be exceptions: check the module handbook.
University of Hull Library. Opened on .
- How do I exclude the in-text citations from my word count?
You usually will not have to exclude in-text citations; the Postgraduate Research Regulations exclude citations from the word length. Its Word method removes all text in round brackets.
Lancaster University Library. Opened on .
- See word count & page count in Google Docs
“Unless you select a section of the document, word count applies to everything except headers, footers, and footnotes.”
Google Docs Editors Help. Opened on .
- Word count
The Word Count dialog on the Review tab shows more detail and has the option to include text boxes and footnotes in the total.
Microsoft Support. Opened on .
- How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate
Average adult rates in English: 238 words per minute for silent reading of non-fiction, 260 for fiction, 183 for reading aloud.
Brysbaert (2019), Journal of Memory and Language 109. Cited reference: we could not open the page on the day of our check, so it is listed as the published reference.
Word processors and course rules count some parts differently, so treat the total as a check and your course handbook or publisher as the rule. Files are read on your device: nothing you drop or paste is uploaded.