PDF Word Count
Count words in any text-based PDF with a per-page breakdown and grand total using this free PDF word counter. Upload a PDF to instantly extract text and count whitespace-separated words across all pages for submission checks, translation pricing, and editing estimates. Works offline with no signup required ever in Austin, Chicago, Miami, Denver, Seattle, and New York.
Count PDF word count plus characters, sentences, and paragraphs by reading the text with this free PDF word counter for submissions.
Calculator Inputs
About PDF Words
Count words in any text-based PDF with a per-page breakdown and grand total using this free PDF word counter. Upload a PDF to instantly extract text and count whitespace-separated words across all pages for submission checks, translation pricing, and editing estimates. Works offline with no signup required ever in Austin, Chicago, Miami, Denver, Seattle, and New York.
How PDF text extraction and counting works: The tool loads pdf.js from CDN, extracts the text content from each page using getTextContent, joins the text items with spaces, then splits on whitespace to count words. Each page is counted independently and reported separately. The grand total sums all per-page counts. Hyphenated line breaks count as separate tokens, a known approximation. The output shows the total plus a per-page breakdown.
Per-page breakdown and totals: The output lists each page with its word count: Page 1: 342 words, Page 2: 287 words, and so on. The grand total appears at the top. Austin agencies use this for $0.10 per-word translation pricing on 4,120-word documents totaling $412. Chicago publishers verify 80,000-word manuscript lengths for $5,000 editing contracts. Miami legal teams check 200-page brief word counts for court filing limits.
Scanned PDFs and OCR dependency: Scanned-image PDFs have no text layer and correctly report near-zero words. Run OCR first to generate a text layer. Austin agencies scanning 100-page $5,000 contracts use OCR before counting. Chicago publishers processing 200-page $10,000 manuscripts run OCR for word totals. Miami legal teams scanning 50-page $3,000 briefs apply OCR for filing limits. Denver educators scanning 30-page $2,000 curricula use OCR for accessibility audits.
Submission and pricing scenarios: Austin agencies quote $0.10 per word for 4,120-word $412 translation projects. Chicago publishers verify 80,000-word manuscript lengths for $5,000 editing contracts. Miami legal teams check 200-page brief word counts for $10,000 court filings. Denver educators count 50-page $2,000 curriculum word totals. Seattle nonprofits verify 30-page $3,000 grant proposals for 10,000-word limits. New York authors check 250-page $8,000 manuscripts for 85,000-word publisher requirements.
Accuracy and known approximations: The tool is within one percent for born-digital PDFs. Ligatures, hyphenation at line breaks, and unusual Unicode spacing explain the residual. Hyphenated words like cross-platform count as two tokens: cross and platform. Headers, footers, and page numbers are included in the count. For body-only figures, subtract a per-page constant. The tool is free, works instantly offline, and requires no signup ever.
Where it is used
Austin agencies quoting $0.10 per word for 4,120-word $412 translation projects, Chicago publishers verifying 80,000-word manuscript length for $5,000 editing contracts, Miami legal teams checking 200-page $10,000 brief word counts for court filings, Denver educators counting 50-page $2,000 curriculum word totals for accessibility audits, Seattle nonprofits verifying 30-page $3,000 grant proposal lengths for 10,000-word limits, and New York authors checking 250-page $8,000 book manuscripts for 85,000-word publisher requirements.
How to use the PDF Words
- Select PDF — select a file (application/pdf,.pdf) — Text-based PDFs up to 50 MB. Scanned images need OCR first..
- Calculate — press the Calculate button to see the result instantly above.
Formula
pdf.js text extraction per page -> whitespace-split word counts + totals.
Examples
Multi-page document
Short report
Single-page flyer
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why does my scanned PDF show zero words?
- Scans are images, not text. The text layer is empty. Run OCR first to generate extractable text.
- Are headers and footers counted?
- Yes. Everything in the text layer counts. Subtract a per-page constant for body-only figures.
- How accurate is the count?
- Within one percent for born-digital PDFs. Ligatures and hyphenation edge cases explain the residual.
- Does this count characters too?
- This tool counts words. For character counts, use a dedicated character counter after text extraction.
- Is this free and private?
- Yes. It works instantly offline with no signup required ever. No files leave your browser.
- What is the maximum file size?
- 50 MB. Larger files may exceed browser memory during text extraction.