Quick Answer
20 pages double-spaced is approximately 5,000 words in 12pt Times New Roman with 1-inch margins (about 250 words per page). Single-spaced, the same 20 pages hold about 10,000 words.
20 pages double-spaced is approximately 5,000 words in 12pt Times New Roman with 1-inch margins. That works out to about 250 words per page. Switch to single-spaced and the same 20 pages hold roughly 10,000 words.
20 pages in Words: Quick Table
| Format | Words |
|---|---|
| 20 pages, single-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman | ~10,000 |
| 20 pages, 1.5-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman | ~6,660 |
| 20 pages, double-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman | ~5,000 |
Use our Words to Pages Converter to match your exact font and spacing.
Why Spacing Changes the Word Count
Single spacing fits about 500 words on a page, while double spacing fits about 250. That is why 20 pages can mean anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 words depending on your formatting. Academic papers usually require double spacing, so when a professor asks for 20 pages, they typically expect about 5,000 words.
Reading Time for 20 pages
At double spacing (5,000 words), 20 pages takes about 22 minutes to read at 200-250 WPM. Track your draft length with our Word Counter.
Sources
- American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), Chapter 2: Paper Elements and Format.
- Modern Language Association. (2021). MLA Handbook (9th ed.), Section 1.1: Formatting the Paper.
- Microsoft Corporation. (2024). Word document formatting.
- Brysbaert, M. (2019). How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate. Journal of Memory and Language, 109.