Key takeaways
In 12 point Times New Roman with 1 inch margins, 1,000 words is roughly 1.5 pages single-spaced and 2.5 to 3 pages double-spaced.
Spacing and font change the answer more than anything else. Double spacing roughly doubles the page count.
You will often see "500 words single-spaced, 250 double-spaced." That rule of thumb is on the cautious side, which is handy if you need to reach a page minimum.
The numbers here are calculated estimates, not guarantees. Check your own document with a word counter.
A teacher says "write a five page essay." A client asks for "about 1,000 words." You need to know how one turns into the other.
Here is the answer first, and then the charts.
How Many Pages Is 1,000 Words?
With standard settings, which are 12 point Times New Roman or Arial, 1 inch margins on US Letter paper, and ordinary paragraphs:
- Single-spaced: about 1.5 to 1.6 pages.
- Double-spaced: about 2.6 to 2.9 pages, so plan for just under 3.
Change the font size, the spacing, or the margins and the answer moves. That is why you will see different answers on different websites. They are using different assumptions, often without saying so.
How We Worked These Numbers Out
We want to be upfront about this. We did not count pages in Word or Google Docs for this guide. Instead, we ran a layout calculation: we took a sample of ordinary English prose, wrapped it into lines at 6.5 inches wide using fonts that have the same letter widths as Times New Roman and Arial (Liberation Serif and Liberation Sans), and divided the page height by the line height that Word uses for those fonts. The calculation includes paragraph breaks and a half-inch first line indent for the double-spaced essay.
That gives these approximate capacities per page:
- Single-spaced Times New Roman 12: about 650 words
- Single-spaced Arial 12: about 620 words
- 1.5 spaced Times New Roman 12: about 500 words
- Double-spaced Times New Roman 12: about 380 words
- Double-spaced Arial 12: about 350 words
Real documents differ by roughly 10 to 15 percent. Text with long words, headings, bullet points, tables, or images will take more space. Text with short words will take less. If a page count matters, such as for a school assignment, always check the actual document.
Words to Pages Chart
Pages needed for each word count on US Letter, 1 inch margins, standard paragraphs.
| Words | Single TNR 12 | Single Arial 12 | 1.5 TNR 12 | Double TNR 12 | Double Arial 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| 250 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| 300 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.9 |
| 500 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1 | 1.3 | 1.4 |
| 750 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2 | 2.1 |
| 1,000 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 2 | 2.6 | 2.9 |
| 1,500 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 3 | 3.9 | 4.3 |
| 2,000 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 4 | 5.3 | 5.7 |
| 2,500 | 3.8 | 4 | 5 | 6.6 | 7.1 |
| 3,000 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 6 | 7.9 | 8.6 |
| 4,000 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 8 | 10.5 | 11.4 |
| 5,000 | 7.7 | 8.1 | 10 | 13.2 | 14.3 |
| 7,500 | 11.5 | 12.1 | 15 | 19.7 | 21.4 |
| 10,000 | 15.4 | 16.1 | 20 | 26.3 | 28.6 |
Pages to Words Chart
If you are given a page count, this shows roughly how many words you need.
| Pages | Single TNR 12 | Single Arial 12 | 1.5 TNR 12 | Double TNR 12 | Double Arial 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 650 | 620 | 500 | 380 | 350 |
| 2 | 1,300 | 1,240 | 1,000 | 760 | 700 |
| 3 | 1,950 | 1,860 | 1,500 | 1,140 | 1,050 |
| 4 | 2,600 | 2,480 | 2,000 | 1,520 | 1,400 |
| 5 | 3,250 | 3,100 | 2,500 | 1,900 | 1,750 |
| 6 | 3,900 | 3,720 | 3,000 | 2,280 | 2,100 |
| 8 | 5,200 | 4,960 | 4,000 | 3,040 | 2,800 |
| 10 | 6,500 | 6,200 | 5,000 | 3,800 | 3,500 |
| 12 | 7,800 | 7,440 | 6,000 | 4,560 | 4,200 |
| 15 | 9,750 | 9,300 | 7,500 | 5,700 | 5,250 |
| 20 | 13,000 | 12,400 | 10,000 | 7,600 | 7,000 |
| 25 | 16,250 | 15,500 | 12,500 | 9,500 | 8,750 |
So a 10 page double-spaced paper in Times New Roman 12 is around 3,800 words of solid text, and a 5 page double-spaced paper is around 1,900.
The Rule of Thumb You Will See Everywhere
Most pages quote "500 words per single-spaced page and 250 per double-spaced page." That is a widely repeated shortcut, and it is lower than our calculation for a full page of text. It makes sense as a rule for planning: it builds in room for a title, headings, gaps between paragraphs, a half empty last page, and a page or two that never fill up completely.
Use it like this:
- If you need to hit a minimum number of pages: use the larger of the two estimates for words, then check. A little extra is safer than coming up short.
- If you need to stay under a maximum: use the smaller capacity, then check, so you do not go over.
What Changes the Page Count
- Font and size. A wider font such as Arial takes more room than Times New Roman, and 11 point fits more per page than 12 point.
- Line spacing. Double spacing roughly doubles the pages of single spacing. 1.5 spacing sits in the middle.
- Margins. Wider margins reduce the words per line. Standard essay formatting uses 1 inch.
- Paper size. A4 is narrower and taller than US Letter, so counts shift a little.
- Headings, lists, tables, and images. All use more vertical space than plain paragraphs.
- Paragraph spacing. Extra space after each paragraph adds up over a long document. Many word processors add some by default, so check your settings.
- The title page. A cover page, header, or bibliography may or may not count toward the page limit. Check the assignment.
Word vs Google Docs
Both programs let you set the font, size, spacing, and margins, and both show a live word count (in Word it sits in the status bar, and in Google Docs it is under Tools). Their default styles are not the same, so a document pasted from one to the other can change length. If an assignment sets a page count, set the font, size, spacing, and margins first, then write, then check the pages.
How to Reach a Word Count or Page Count
If you are short, do not pad. Add something real:
- Add an example or short case that supports a point.
- Explain a term you assumed the reader knew.
- Add a counterargument and answer it.
- Expand a thin paragraph with the free paragraph expander, then edit what it gives you.
If you are over, cut in this order: repeated points, long introductions, filler phrases, and finally weaker examples. The free summarizer can show you a tighter version of a long passage so you can see what is essential.
For help with structure, see our guides on how to write a conclusion and essay hook examples, and our page on essay writing with AI.
What This Chart Cannot Tell You
These figures are estimates from a calculation, not measurements from your document. Your own word processor, your fonts, and your formatting decide the real answer, and many assignments define their own rules for what counts. When a page limit really matters, follow the instructions you were given and check the finished document.
