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Free word counter
Paste or type your text to count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs as you write. See reading and speaking time, set a word or character limit such as the 4,000-character UCAS personal statement, and check how many pages your essay will fill.
Quick answers
- 1,000 words
- ≈ 2 pages, single-spaced
- 1,000 words
- ≈ 5 min to read
- 500 words
- ≈ 2,900 characters
- 4,000 characters
- ≈ 690 words
Estimates; see how they are worked out below.
Last reviewed ·
Words to pages, characters and reading time
1,000 words is about 2 pages single-spaced or 4 pages double-spaced, roughly 5,800 characters including spaces, and about 5 minutes to read at a steady pace.
| Words | Pages (single-spaced) | Pages (double-spaced) | Characters (approx.) | Reading time | Speaking time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 580 | 30 sec | 40 sec |
| 250 | 0.5 | 1 | 1,450 | 1 min 15 sec | 1 min 40 sec |
| 300 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 1,740 | 1 min 30 sec | 2 min |
| 500 | 1 | 2 | 2,900 | 2 min 30 sec | 3 min 20 sec |
| 750 | 1.5 | 3 | 4,350 | 3 min 45 sec | 5 min |
| 1,000 | 2 | 4 | 5,800 | 5 min | 6 min 40 sec |
| 1,500 | 3 | 6 | 8,700 | 7 min 30 sec | 10 min |
| 2,000 | 4 | 8 | 11,600 | 10 min | 13 min 20 sec |
| 2,500 | 5 | 10 | 14,500 | 12 min 30 sec | 16 min 40 sec |
| 3,000 | 6 | 12 | 17,400 | 15 min | 20 min |
| 5,000 | 10 | 20 | 29,000 | 25 min | 33 min 20 sec |
Estimates assume 500 words per single-spaced page and 250 per double-spaced page in 12pt text, 5.8 characters per word including spaces, reading at 200 and speaking at 150 words per minute.
Characters to words
4,000 characters is about 690 words, and 280 characters is about 48 words. These estimates use an average English word of 4.79 letters plus a space.
| Characters | Words (approx.) | Reading time |
|---|---|---|
| 280 | 48 | 14 sec |
| 400 | 69 | 21 sec |
| 500 | 86 | 26 sec |
| 800 | 138 | 41 sec |
| 1,000 | 172 | 52 sec |
| 2,200 | 379 | 1 min 54 sec |
| 4,000 | 690 | 3 min 27 sec |
| 5,000 | 862 | 4 min 19 sec |
| 10,000 | 1,724 | 8 min 37 sec |
| 40,000 | 6,897 | 34 min 29 sec |
UCAS personal statement character limit
From 2026 entry, the UCAS personal statement has three questions with a combined limit of 4,000 characters including spaces, and each answer needs at least 350 characters.
- 01Why do you want to study this course or subject?
- 02How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
- 03What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?
Choose the UCAS preset in the counter to track your answers against the 4,000-character total, then check the final count in UCAS Hub before you submit.
Source: UCAS, how to write your personal statement for 2026 entry onwards
How the counter works
Every number follows the same simple rules, so you know exactly what is being counted.
- A word is a run of letters or numbers. Hyphenated words and contractions such as “well-known” and “don't” count as one word.
- Characters include spaces and line breaks; the second count leaves all spaces out. Emoji and accented letters count as one character.
- A sentence ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark. Paragraphs are separated by a blank line.
- Reading time uses 200 words per minute and speaking time 150 words per minute.
- Counting happens in your browser. Your text is not stored or sent anywhere unless you choose to open it in the study tool.
Adults read non-fiction silently at about 238 words per minute on average, and most read between 175 and 300, according to a review of 190 studies. 200 is a steady pace for revising. Brysbaert, 2019
Frequently asked questions
How many pages is 1,000 words?
About 2 pages single-spaced or 4 pages double-spaced in 12pt text with standard margins. Fonts, spacing and headings change this, so check your teacher's or university's formatting rules.
How many words is 4,000 characters?
About 690 words, using an average of 5.8 characters per English word including the space after it. The real number depends on how long your words are.
Does the UCAS personal statement limit include spaces?
Yes. UCAS says the 4,000-character limit includes spaces, so use the count of characters with spaces. Each of the three answers also needs at least 350 characters.
How long does it take to read 1,000 words?
About 5 minutes at 200 words per minute, a steady revision pace. Reading it aloud, for example in a presentation, takes about 6 to 7 minutes at 150 words per minute.
Do hyphenated words and contractions count as one word?
Yes. “Well-known” and “don't” count as one word each, and numbers such as 2027 count as words. Word processors can differ slightly, especially with dashes and symbols.
Is my text saved or sent anywhere?
No. The counting happens in your browser and your text isn't stored. It only leaves the page if you choose to send it to the Aripsy study tool.
Does it work in other languages?
Yes. It counts words in any language that separates words with spaces, including Arabic, Russian, German and Spanish. Reading-time estimates are based on English.