Double Spaced Pages: Word Count Guide for Students

March 8, 2026 · 5 min read

Your professor said "5 pages, double spaced." You want to know exactly how many words that is before you start writing — not after you've already written 3,000 words and realize you overshot. This guide gives you the exact numbers.

Word Count Table for Double Spaced Pages

These counts use the standard academic format: 12pt Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, double spacing. This is what MLA, APA (7th ed.), and Chicago default to.

The rule of thumb: 250 words per double-spaced page. It's not exact — font choice can shift this by ±50 words — but it's accurate enough for planning.

What "Double Spaced" Actually Means

Double spacing sets the gap between lines to 2.0 — meaning there's one full blank line between each line of text. A standard single-spaced document fits about 500 words per page. Double spacing cuts that to ~250. That's it. No mystery.

In Microsoft Word: Home → Line and Paragraph Spacing → 2.0.
In Google Docs: Format → Line & paragraph spacing → Double.

One important detail: double spacing also affects the space after paragraph breaks. If you're in Word and see extra space between paragraphs on top of the double spacing, check Format → Paragraph → Spacing After. It should be 0pt for standard MLA/APA. Some Word presets add 8–10pt spacing after paragraphs, which artificially inflates page count.

Why Professors Require Double Spacing

Double spacing exists for one practical reason: it gives instructors room to write feedback between your lines. A tightly packed single-spaced essay leaves no space for margin notes, corrections, or comments inline.

It's not a trap designed to make your paper look shorter. It's a workflow requirement for the person grading it. Which also means: if you submit single-spaced to save paper or because you forgot, you're making the grader's job harder. That's not a great way to start.

How Font and Size Change the Count

The 250 words/page estimate is for 12pt Times New Roman. Different fonts and sizes will shift it:

Courier New is the outlier — it's a monospace font where every character (including "i" and "l") occupies the same width. That makes it run wider than proportional fonts, reducing words per line and therefore words per page. This is why old-school writing guides measured manuscripts in Courier New: it gave a consistent character count per page.

Common Assignment Lengths in Double-Spaced Words

Here's how typical assignment lengths translate:

Does the Title Page Count?

In MLA format: the title appears on the first page of content, not a separate page. No separate title page means no extra page padding.

In APA (7th ed.): a title page is required and is page 1. The body starts on page 2. So a "5-page APA paper" technically has 4 pages of actual content (the title page plus 4 content pages = 5 pages total). This is a common source of confusion — always clarify with your instructor whether they mean 5 pages of content or 5 total pages including the title page.

References/Works Cited pages don't count toward the body page total in either format. A 5-page essay with a 1-page References section is still a 5-page essay.

Get the Exact Count for Your Document

The tables above give solid estimates, but your actual page count depends on your specific font, size, margins, and spacing settings. Use the words to pages calculator to get a precise estimate — enter your word count, then adjust font, size, and spacing to match your assignment requirements exactly.