How to Check Word Count in Microsoft Word

Easily meet targets using this handy tracker

By
Rebecca Johnson
Rebecca Johnson
Freelance Contributor
Rebecca Johnson is a former freelance contributor to Lifewire and a Microsoft Office Certified Master Instructor who specializes in Microsoft Office products.
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Updated on June 25, 2022
Latin words carved into marble.

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What to Know

  • Status bar: Right-click status bar for Customize Status Bar menu > select Word Count to display in bar.
  • Selected text: Highlight desired text > check word count on left side of Word status bar.
  • Word Count window: Select Word Count on status bar, or select Review under Proofing and select Word Count.

This article explains how to check the word count of a document in Microsoft Word 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and Word for Microsoft 365.

View Word Count in the Status Bar

If you don't see the word count in the status bar:

  1. Right-click anywhere on the status bar to display the Customize Status Bar menu.

    MS Word with Customize Status Bar menu displayed
    ​

  2. View the Word Count to see how many words are in the document.

    Word with the word count highlighted

  3. To display the word count in the status bar, select ​Word Count.

    Microsoft Word with the word count highlighted

Word Count for Selected Text

To view the number of words in a specific sentence, paragraph, or section, select the text. The word count of the selected text displays on the left side of the Word status bar, along with the word count for the entire document. It will say something like 95 of 502 words.

To find the word count for several sections at the same time, make the first selection, then hold the Ctrl key while you make the other selections.

A document in Word with the word count of selected text highlighted

The Word Count Window

If you need more than a simple word count, display the Word Count pop-up window, which shows the following information:

  • Number of pages
  • Number of words
  • Number of characters (no spaces)
  • Number of characters (with spaces)
  • Paragraphs
  • Lines

To open the Word Count window, select the word count on the status bar. Or, go to the Review menu and, in the Proofing group, select Word Count.

You can opt to include or exclude text boxes, footnotes, and endnotes.

To close the Word Count window, select Close or X.

MS Word with Word Count window displayed
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