How to count the words in a PDF
- Open your PDF.
- Wait a moment while the text on each page is read.
- See the total words, characters with and without spaces, and pages.
- Check the per-page counts to find the long sections.
Why a scanned PDF shows 0 words
There are two kinds of PDF. One made from Word, Google Docs or a website has a text layer: the letters are stored as text, which is why you can select and search them. A scanned PDF, or one made from phone photos, is a picture of each page. To a computer it is pixels, with no letters to count, so the word count is 0.
A quick test: try to select a word in your PDF viewer. If you cannot, the page is an image. To count it you would need OCR (optical character recognition) software to turn the picture into text first. Or count the original document if you have it.
Why the count may differ from Word
Word counts are close between tools but rarely identical. In a PDF, everything on the page is text, so headers, footers, page numbers, footnotes and reference lists are all counted. Word may leave some of those out. Hyphenated words split across a line break can count as two. Tables can run their cells together.
If you are checking against a limit, such as a 3,000-word essay that excludes the bibliography, use the per-page counts. Add up the pages that count and leave out the reference pages. For example, if pages 1 to 10 hold 2,940 words and pages 11 to 12 are references, you are within the limit.
Useful for
Checking a dissertation or coursework PDF before submission, estimating translation or proofreading costs quoted per word, and seeing how long a report really is. The file is read on your device, so unpublished work stays private.
Questions people ask
Does the PDF word count include spaces?
Words are counted separately from characters. You get characters both with and without spaces.
Why does my PDF show 0 words?
It is almost certainly scanned or made from photos, so the pages are images with no text layer. Try selecting a word to check.
Are footnotes and headers counted?
Yes, any text on the page is counted, including headers, footers, page numbers and footnotes.
Can I count words on one page only?
Yes. The per-page counts show the words on each page, so you can read off one page or add up a range.
Is my document uploaded?
No. The text is read in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.