Book page count calculator · Free · No sign-up
Book Page Count Calculator
A book page count calculator turns a manuscript’s word count into the pages of the printed book. This one lays the page out from the trim size, font and margins, then adds what a flat words-a-page figure leaves out: an 80,000-word novel in 25 chapters at 5.5 × 8.5 in comes to about 300 pages, likely 276 to 324.
It counts chapter openings, blank pages, front matter and KDP’s wider inside margin, and it checks the 24 and 828 page limits.
Inside KDP’s 24 to 828 pages for black ink on white paper.
- Words a page
- 307
- Lines a page
- 33
- Words a line
- 10.2
- Pages of text
- 260.2
- Lost to chapters
- 30.6
- Front and back
- 8
- Inside margin
- 0.5 in
- Text block
- 4.4 × 7.0 in
| Trim size | Pages | Likely range | Words a page | Inside margin (in) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 × 8 in | 362 | 338 to 386 | 248 | 0.625 |
| 5.25 × 8 in | 342 | 318 to 366 | 265 | 0.625 |
| 5.5 × 8.5 in | 300 | 276 to 324 | 307 | 0.5 |
| 6 × 9 in | 254 | 230 to 278 | 372 | 0.5 |
| 7 × 10 in | 196 | 172 to 222 | 505 | 0.5 |
The figures above are an example: put in your own. Worked out in this browser and kept there. To get the word count first, use the word counter.
Type the words and the number of chapters, choose the trim size and the type, and read the printed pages, with the range they could land in. Change the margins, the chapter starts or the printer’s rounding and watch each one move the total.
A book’s page count is the number of pages in the printed interior, front matter, blank pages and back matter included. It is more than the words divided by the words on a page, because chapters start on fresh pages, often on the right, and the printer makes pages in twos or more.
- No sign-up
- Nothing uploaded
- Fonts measured
- Works offline
- Shows its working
Key facts
| Detail | Answer |
|---|---|
| Price | Free, no sign-up, nothing to install |
| 80,000 words, 25 chapters | About 300 pages at 5.5 × 8.5 in; 254 at 6 × 9 in |
| Words a page | About 307 at 5.5 × 8.5 in, Palatino Linotype 11 pt |
| Chapters open on | A right-hand page or the next page; blank pages counted |
| Margins | KDP’s minimum inside margin by page count, or your own |
| Limits checked | 24 to 828 pages, black ink on white paper; 776 on cream |
| Method | Lines a page from the font’s line height; words a line from its letter widths |
| Where your numbers are kept | This browser only |
How to work out how many pages your book will be
Enter the manuscript’s numbers, set the book, and read the board.
Enter the words and chapters
Take the word count from your manuscript and count its chapters; the chapter count matters because every one costs part of a page.
Choose the trim size
Pick the page size you will print: 5.5 × 8.5 in and 6 × 9 in are the usual novel and non-fiction sizes.
Set the type
Choose the font, size and line spacing, and how long the paragraphs run; dialogue makes them short.
Set the margins
Leave the inside margin on KDP’s minimum to have it widen with the page count, or fix it at your own figure.
Describe the start of the book
Enter the front and back matter pages, and say whether chapters open on a right-hand page.
Read the board
The printed pages, the range and the KDP check come first; the table gives the same book at every trim size, which you can copy.
Who uses a book page count calculator
Anyone who has a manuscript and needs to know how thick the book will be before it is typeset.
Self-publishing novelists
A page estimate for pricing, a cover brief and the spine, before paying for a typeset file.
Non-fiction authors
A check that a 40,000-word guide clears KDP’s 24-page minimum with room to spare, and what it costs to add a chapter.
Cover designers
A page count to quote a spine width from when the author has not finished the interior.
Editors and agents
A manuscript’s length turned into the book it will be, for a publisher’s production estimate.
Formatters and typesetters
A quote for a job from the word count, trim size and chapter count the client gave.
Anyone choosing a trim size
The same words at five sizes, to see what a larger page does to the thickness.
What chapters add: openings, short endings and blank pages
Every chapter that starts on a new page ends part way down its last page, and a chapter title takes lines of its own, so a book of the same words has more pages the more chapters it has. When chapters also open on a right-hand page, a chapter that ends on a right-hand page leaves the next left-hand page blank. KDP’s own help says chapter one starts on a right-facing page, and that later chapters start on the next available page; whether they open on the right is the typesetter’s choice, and novels usually do. Both losses average out over a book, which is what the calculator allows for: half a page for each chapter end, and a blank page before half of the openings.
| Chapters | Open on the next page | Open on a right-hand page | Pages added by right-hand starts | Blank pages expected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 276 | 282 | 6 | 5 |
| 25 | 288 | 300 | 12 | 12 |
| 40 | 298 | 326 | 28 | 20 |
| 60 | 322 | 350 | 28 | 30 |
Of the 300 pages in the example, 260 are running text; the rest is 30.6 lost to chapter openings and endings and blank pages, and 8 of front and back matter, before rounding up to an even number. A flat words-a-page figure would call the book 260 pages.
Why KDP’s wider gutter adds pages as the book grows
KDP asks for a larger inside margin, the gutter next to the spine, the thicker the book: 0.375 in up to 150 pages, 0.5 in to 300, 0.625 in to 500, 0.75 in to 700 and 0.875 in to 828. The margin narrows every line, the narrower lines need more pages, and more pages can push the book into the next band. The calculator takes the smallest band whose page count stays inside it, so the figure already contains the wider gutter. Check the bands on KDP’s trim size and margins page before you export, since they are the printer’s to change.
| Words | Chapters | 0.375 in gutter all through | KDP minimum for the pages | Inside margin used (in) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40,000 | 12 | 150 | 150 | 0.375 |
| 60,000 | 19 | 222 | 228 | 0.5 |
| 80,000 | 25 | 292 | 300 | 0.5 |
| 100,000 | 31 | 364 | 382 | 0.625 |
| 120,000 | 38 | 436 | 458 | 0.625 |
The default example sits at 300 pages, at the top of the 0.5 in band. Add 2,000 words and one chapter and the book needs 316 pages with a 0.625 in gutter: 16 pages for words that, at the same margin, would add about 8.
How many pages is 30,000 to 120,000 words?
Pages for common manuscript lengths in the calculator’s starting format, with a chapter of about 3,200 words:
| Words | Chapters | Pages | Likely range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30,000 | 9 | 114 | 106 to 124 |
| 50,000 | 16 | 192 | 176 to 206 |
| 70,000 | 22 | 264 | 242 to 286 |
| 80,000 | 25 | 300 | 276 to 324 |
| 100,000 | 31 | 382 | 352 to 412 |
| 120,000 | 38 | 458 | 420 to 494 |
The range runs from no pages lost at any chapter end to a whole page lost at each, with a blank page before every opening. Your typesetter’s sample chapter is the final word.
The same words at five trim sizes
The same 80,000 words at the five trim sizes, in the calculator’s starting format. A smaller page holds fewer words, so the book is longer; a longer book takes a wider gutter and a thicker spine.
| Trim size | Pages | Likely range | Words a page | Inside margin (in) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 × 8 in | 362 | 338 to 386 | 248 | 0.625 |
| 5.25 × 8 in | 342 | 318 to 366 | 265 | 0.625 |
| 5.5 × 8.5 in | 300 | 276 to 324 | 307 | 0.5 |
| 6 × 9 in | 254 | 230 to 278 | 372 | 0.5 |
| 7 × 10 in | 196 | 172 to 222 | 505 | 0.5 |
Going from 5 × 8 in to 6 × 9 in takes the book from 362 to 254 pages, a drop of 43%.
Front matter, back matter and the right-hand page
KDP counts every page of the exported file, blank pages included. Front matter runs, in KDP’s usual order, from the half title and the title page to the copyright page and the dedication, with a contents page where the book has one, and each takes a page or a spread. The back matter is whatever follows the last chapter: acknowledgements, an author note, a list of other books.
| Page | Side | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Right | Half title |
| 2 | Left | Blank, or also by the author |
| 3 | Right | Title page |
| 4 | Left | Copyright |
| 5 | Right | Dedication |
| 6 | Left | Blank |
| 7 | Right | Chapter one |
Front matter that adds up to an odd number leaves chapter one on a left-hand page, so when chapters open on the right the calculator adds the blank page for you. A table of contents, a map or a long foreword adds more: put the real number in the front matter box.
What this calculator does not do
This is a planning estimate. It lays a book out on averages; it does not set your file.
| It does | It does not |
|---|---|
| Work out pages from the trim size, font, margins and paragraph length | Allow for scene breaks, verse, tables, images, footnotes or a long contents page |
| Allow half a page lost at each chapter end and a lower chapter opening | Know your chapters’ real lengths: a book of one long chapter and several short ones lands inside the range, not always on the estimate |
| Add the blank pages that right-hand chapter starts cause, on average | Say exactly which chapters need one |
| Raise KDP’s inside margin with the page count | Quote another printer’s margins, bleed or page limits |
| Round up to a multiple of 2 to 32 | Say how a printer sets its signatures |
| Compare the five trim sizes | Give spine width or cover size: those come from the final page count and the paper, so take them from your printer’s calculator once the file is exported |
Export the PDF from your formatting tool and read the page count from the file itself before you order a cover or upload to KDP.
This calculator, a typical tool or your word processor
Three ways to estimate a book’s pages, and what each leaves out.
| This calculator | A typical words-to-pages tool | Your word processor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, no sign-up | Free, often with ads | Part of the app |
| The page is laid out from the font | Measured widths, margins and paragraphs | A words-a-page figure per trim size | Yes, but on a Letter page |
| Chapter openings and ends | Yes, per chapter | Usually a flat extra | No |
| Blank pages from right-hand starts | Yes, expected value and worst case | No | No |
| Front and back matter | Yes, padded to put chapter one on the right | A flat 5 to 15 pages | No |
| KDP’s margin rising with the pages | Yes | No | No |
| Printer rounding and limits | Multiples of 2 to 32; the 24 and 828 page limits checked | Sometimes the limits | No |
| A range, not one number | Yes | Rarely | No |
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Frequently asked questions
How many pages is an 80,000-word book?
About 300 pages at 5.5 × 8.5 in in an 11 pt book face with 25 chapters opening on right-hand pages, likely 276 to 324. At 6 × 9 in it is about 254 and at 5 × 8 in about 362. A fixed words-a-page figure would call it about 260, missing the chapter openings, blank pages and front matter.
How many pages is a 50,000-word book?
About 192 pages at 5.5 × 8.5 in, with 16 chapters of about 3,200 words, an 11 pt book face and right-hand chapter starts: likely 176 to 206. At 6 × 9 in it is about 162, and at 5 × 8 in about 224. Fewer, longer chapters would take it down by a few pages.
How many pages is 100,000 words in a book?
About 382 pages at 5.5 × 8.5 in, with 31 chapters, an 11 pt book face and right-hand chapter starts: likely 352 to 412. At 6 × 9 in it is about 322. The book is long enough to need KDP’s 0.625 in inside margin, which is already in these figures.
How many words per page in a book?
About 307 at 5.5 × 8.5 in, set in Palatino Linotype 11 pt with 60-word paragraphs, and about 372 at 6 × 9 in and 248 at 5 × 8 in. It depends on the trim size, the type size and the margins more than on the writing, and dialogue-heavy text holds fewer words a page than long paragraphs.
Does front matter count toward the page count?
Yes. KDP counts every page of the exported interior file, blank pages, the title page, the copyright page, the contents and the back matter included. A usual novel’s front matter runs to about six pages, and the calculator adds one more if you enter an odd number and chapters open on the right.
Why does a book have more pages than my Word document?
Because a printed page is smaller and set in book type, and because chapters begin on new pages, often right-hand ones, with blank pages between. The margins widen for the binding too. Expect the book to be longer than the document’s page count or a flat words-a-page figure in most cases.
What is the minimum page count for KDP?
KDP paperbacks need at least 24 pages. The maximum is 828 for black ink on white paper and 776 on cream paper, and it varies with the trim size and ink; the calculator checks the figures for black ink and says how far a book is over or under. Confirm the limits for your format on KDP before you upload.
Why is the page count rounded to an even number?
Because a book is made of sheets printed on both sides, so its pages come in twos. Offset printers fold the sheets into signatures of 4, 8, 16 or 32 pages, and a book is rounded up to fill the last one. Choose a multiple in the calculator to see what it adds.
How accurate is a book page count calculator?
Within the range it shows: the estimate allows for the average chapter, and the range runs from none of the losses to the most of them. It cannot know scene breaks, images, a long contents page or your chapters’ real lengths, so the page count of the exported PDF is the final figure.
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