How to Count Words in Microsoft Word

Method 1: the status bar

The word count appears at the bottom left of the Word window. Select any text and the bar shows the count of the selection as “X of Y words”. If it is missing, right-click the status bar and tick Word Count.

Method 2: the Word Count dialog

1. Go to the Review tab.
2. Click Word Count, or press Ctrl+Shift+G on Windows or Command+Shift+G on Mac.
3. Read pages, words, characters (no spaces), characters (with spaces), paragraphs and lines.
4. Tick or clear Include textboxes, footnotes and endnotes to match your rules.

Counting part of a document

Select the paragraphs or sections you want to measure; the status bar and the dialog both then report on the selection. To exclude a reference list, select from the start of the document to the end of the main text. For a heading-by-heading breakdown, paste the sections into the Content Brief Word Counter.

If the count looks wrong

Check the include-footnotes option, hidden text and tracked changes (switch to the Final view). Remember that Word counts a standalone dash or ampersand as a word; see How Microsoft Word Counts Words for the rules. To get a second opinion, paste the text into the Word Counter and compare; small differences are normal.

Try it yourself

Put the numbers above to work with these free tools:

Frequently asked questions