PDF Word Counter
Count the words, characters and pages in a PDF, page by page. Free, and it runs in your browser, so your file is not uploaded.
TL;DR
A PDF word counter shows how many words, characters and pages a PDF holds. This free tool counts them in your browser and lists every page. Typed pages are counted exactly. Scanned pages are read with text recognition, so their counts are close. Your file is not uploaded.
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How to Count Words in a PDF
1
Add a PDF
Drop one PDF on the tool, choose it from your files or paste it.
2
Wait a moment
The tool reads every page, and scanned pages take a few seconds each.
3
Read the numbers
See words, characters and pages, then open the table to see every page.
What This PDF Word Counter Does
This tool reads the text of every page of one PDF and shows four numbers: words, characters with spaces, characters without spaces and pages. Under them is the average number of words per page, and a table lists the words and characters of each page. The result stays on the page. There is no file to download.
Pages without any text count as zero, and the result tells you how many there are. The tool counts the whole PDF and each page. It does not count a selection or a page range, but the table lets you add up the pages you need.
- Up to 100 MB and 1,000 pages on a computer. Up to 30 MB and 300 pages on a phone.
- Up to 150 scanned pages on a computer and 40 on a phone.
- A password-protected PDF has to be unlocked first. Save a copy without the password, then count it.
- One PDF at a time.
- A heading set with very wide letter spacing can be counted as one word even when it is two.
How Words and Characters Are Counted
A word is a run of characters between spaces that holds at least one letter or digit. Characters count every letter, digit, punctuation mark and space, and a line break counts as one space. Characters without spaces leave out spaces and line breaks. Words per page is the total divided by the page count, rounded.
- A hyphenated word such as well-known is one word. So is a number, a date, an amount of money or an email address.
- A word split with a hyphen at the end of a line counts once.
- A dash, a bullet or an ampersand standing alone is not a word.
- Chinese characters and Japanese kana count one each, because those scripts do not put spaces between words.
- Everything on a page is counted: headers, footers, page numbers, captions and footnotes too.
Because a PDF also holds headers, footers and page numbers, its count can differ a little from the count your word processor shows for the original document. Programs also treat symbols and hyphens in different ways.
Count Words in a Scanned PDF
A scanned PDF holds pictures of pages, not typed text. This tool reads those pages with text recognition and counts the words it finds. The count is close, not exact, because recognition can misread or miss a word. Pages with typed text are counted exactly.
The result says how many pages were read from a scan, and the table marks them. Recognition runs in English. For a scan in another language, the PDF to text tool lets you pick the language and shows a word count next to its result. For a photo or a screenshot, use image to text.
The first scanned page downloads about 4 MB for text recognition. A typed PDF skips that download. After that, a scanned page takes a few seconds, and a phone takes longer. Sharp, straight, evenly lit pages read best. Blurry pages, very small print and handwriting read poorly.
PDF Word Count for Writers and Translators
A PDF word count helps anyone who works to a length. Translators quote a price by the word. Students and writers keep to a word limit. Editors check how long a draft is before they start. A count from the PDF itself is useful when the original file is gone.
The character counts help with limits set in characters, such as a form field or a short summary. The page count and the words-per-page average show how dense a document is. If your words are still plain text and you need a PDF, turn the text into a PDF.
On-device OCR. Secure, built for iOS.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I count words in a PDF?
Drop your PDF on the tool or choose it from your files. The tool reads every page and shows the words, characters and pages at once, with a table for each page. There is no button to press. The tool runs in your browser, so your file is not uploaded.
How does a PDF word counter count a word?
A word is a run of characters between spaces that holds at least one letter or digit. A hyphenated word, a number, a date and an email address each count as one word. A dash or bullet standing alone is not a word. Headers, footers and page numbers are counted too.
Can it count words in a scanned PDF?
Yes. Pages without typed text are read with text recognition, and the words are counted from the recognized text. These counts are close, not exact, because recognition can misread or miss a word. The result shows how many pages were read this way. Typed pages are counted exactly.
Is the PDF word count the same as in my word processor?
It can differ a little. A PDF also holds headers, footers and page numbers, and programs treat symbols and hyphens in different ways. For an exact figure of the original document, use the count in the program that made it. This tool counts what is printed on the PDF pages.
Can I get a PDF character count and page count?
Yes. The tool shows characters with spaces, characters without spaces and the number of pages, next to the word count. A line break counts as one space. The table lists the words and characters of every page, so you can add up just the pages you need.
How big can the PDF be?
On a computer, a PDF can be up to 100 MB and 1,000 pages, with up to 150 scanned pages. On a phone, the limit is 30 MB, 300 pages and 40 scanned pages, because a phone browser has less memory. A password-protected PDF has to be unlocked first.
Can I count only some pages of a PDF?
The tool counts the whole PDF and shows each page in a table. It does not count a selection or a page range. To get the count for a range, open the table and add up the words of the pages you need.
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