How to Check Word Count in Word: Desktop, Mac and Web
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To check word count in Microsoft Word, look at the status bar along the bottom of the document. For more details, open Review → Word Count or click the count on the status bar. Select text first if you only want to count a paragraph rather than the whole document.
Find the count in desktop Word
Open the document and make sure no text is selected if you want its total count. Word updates the status-bar count as you type. Click it to open the Word Count dialog, which can show characters, pages, paragraphs and lines as well as words.
If the count is missing on Windows, right-click the status bar and check that Word Count is enabled. You can also use Review → Word Count instead of changing the status bar. Interface labels can vary slightly between versions.
Count a paragraph or a specific section
Highlight exactly the text you need to measure. Word shows a count for the selection, often alongside the document's total. Open the Word Count dialog while the selection is active to see its detailed statistics.
This is useful for an abstract, personal statement, table caption or section with its own limit. Be careful not to include the section heading unless your instructions count it. Click elsewhere to clear the selection before checking the full document again.
Check Word on a Mac
Word for Mac also displays a word count in the status bar. Click the count for details. You can use the application's Word Count command if you prefer the menu; its placement depends on the Mac version.
The important workflow is the same: clear the selection for a document total, select a passage for a partial count, and inspect the dialog when you need characters rather than words. Do not confuse Microsoft Word for Mac with Apple Pages, which has a different menu.
Understand Word for the web's limitations
Word for the web can show a count as you type, but Microsoft describes its total as approximate because some areas are not counted, such as text boxes, headers, footers and SmartArt. Open the document in desktop Word if you need the more complete count.
A document with little text outside its main body may show similar totals in both versions. A brochure with many text boxes may not. Before submitting, use the version or system specified by your teacher, publisher or employer.
Check footnotes, endnotes and character totals
In desktop Word, inspect the Word Count dialog's option for including text boxes, footnotes and endnotes when it is available. Make its setting match your submission rules. The application's total and an assignment's permitted total are not necessarily the same thing.
Character totals can be shown with and without spaces. A form asking for 1,000 characters is not asking for 1,000 words. Record the correct statistic, then recheck after your final edit. If you copy text into another counter, copy the same scope so the comparison is meaningful.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Word show two word counts after I select text?
One is the selected passage's count and the other is the full document's count. Clear the selection to return to the document total.
Is Word for the web's count always identical to desktop Word?
No. Microsoft notes that the web count can be approximate and can exclude text in certain document areas.