PDF word count
Drop a PDF to count its words page by page. Running headers, page numbers and footnotes are told apart from the text, and words split by a hyphen at the end of a line count once.
Drop a PDF here
A PDF of up to 50 MB and 1,500 pages. 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 counted
0
Drop a file or paste text to start.
- 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
How the structure of a PDF is rebuilt
| Found | From | Here |
|---|---|---|
| Running header or footer | The same line at the top or bottom of most pages, numbers aside | Left out (switch) |
| Page number | A line that is only a number, “Page 3” or “3 of 10”, at the top or bottom | Left out (switch) |
| Footnote | Small type at the foot of the page, starting with a note number | Left out (switch) |
| Heading | A short line in larger type, or a line that says References | Counted (switch) |
| Split word | “exam-” at the end of a line and “ple” at the start of the next | One word |
The text and the position of each piece come from PDF.js, which runs in a Web Worker served by this site. The rules above are applied to those positions in your browser.
Why is counting words in a PDF harder than in a Word file?
A PDF does not store paragraphs, headings or notes, only pieces of text placed on a page. The page reads those pieces with PDF.js, the PDF reader from Mozilla, and rebuilds the structure from where they sit: lines from their height on the page, paragraphs from the gaps between lines, headings from larger type, and notes from smaller type at the foot of the page.
Are page numbers and running headers counted?
Not by default. A line that repeats at the top or bottom of most pages, with only its numbers changing, is treated as a running header or footer, and so is a line that is only a page number. They have their own switch in the parts list if you want them in.
What happens to words broken across two lines?
A line that ends with a lowercase letter and a hyphen, followed by a line that starts with a lowercase letter, is joined back into one word, so “exam-” and “ple” count as one word. A hyphen that belongs to the word, as in “well-known” split after the hyphen, still gives one word.
Why does my PDF show no words?
Because its pages are pictures of text, as in a scan or a photo of a page. There is no text layer to read, and reading the shapes of letters (OCR) is not done here. Run the file through a text-recognition tool first, or count the original document if you have it. When only some pages are pictures, the count covers the other pages, a note names the picture pages, and the page grid marks each one “No text”.
Questions about PDF 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 there a page limit?
A PDF is read up to 1,500 pages and 50 MB. A longer file is counted up to that page and a note says how many pages were left out.
Can I see the words on each page?
Yes. A grid shows the counted words of every page, with the same switches as the total, so leaving footnotes out removes them from each page too. It is handy for checking a page range or a chapter that starts mid-document.
Does it count words in a PDF with two columns?
Yes, the words are all counted. The order of the text can mix the columns, which matters for the count by section but not for the total.
Does it work with a password-protected PDF?
A PDF with a password to open cannot be read. Open it with the password, save or print a copy without it, and drop the copy. A PDF that only restricts printing or copying usually opens normally.
Is the PDF count exact?
It is as exact as the text inside the PDF. Ligatures, symbol fonts and text drawn as shapes can make a word read differently, and some PDFs place every letter separately. For a document you wrote, counting the original .docx or .odt is the most reliable.
More ways to count
- Document word countDrop DOCX, PDF, ODT or text files: counts by part, section and page.
- Essay word counterLeave out references, notes and citations, and track your word limit.
- DOCX word countA Word file counted part by part, next to the count Word saved.
- 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
- PDF.js
“A general-purpose, web standards-based platform for parsing and rendering PDFs.” Used here to take the text of a PDF, with the position of each piece, out in the browser.
Mozilla. 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 .
- 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.