ReadingRate · What's new · 2026-11-11

How many words are on a page? A study of 1,989 books

ReadingRate now publishes original studies from its catalogue, and the first answers a question usually answered by guesswork: how many words are on a page. Across 1,989 books and 20,167 print editions the median is 300 words a page, with the middle half of books between 250 and 347. The study page tells the finding as a story beside a live chart where every star is a book, and the data is free to reuse.

Available on web.

The usual figure is 250 words a page. Three quarters of the books measured hold more than that.

Page count turns out to be a rough guide to length: it explains 81% of the difference between books. Among 253 books of 280 to 320 pages, the middle 80% run from 64,000 to 111,000 words. Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice are both 448 pages in their median edition, and Jane Eyre is 185,316 words to Pride and Prejudice's 127,015.

Under the story is an explorer. Slide to a page count to see how many words books of that length hold, search for a title or an author, or tap a star to see the book and open its page. A table for writers runs the sum the other way, from a manuscript's word count to a likely page count.

The data is published as CSV and JSON with a data card, under CC BY 4.0.

What it can't do

  • The sample leans toward older books and classics in the public domain, because those are the books whose full text the catalogue holds.
  • Each book is counted once per page count, not once per printing.
  • The hours quoted are words at an average pace of 250 words a minute. No reader was timed.
  • There is one study so far.
  • The page is in English only.

Questions people ask

How many words are on a page of a book?
The median across 1,989 books and 20,167 print editions in ReadingRate's catalogue is 300 words a page. Half of the books fall between 250 and 347, and three quarters hold more than the 250 usually quoted.
Can I use the data?
Yes. The study's data is published as CSV and JSON with a data card, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.

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