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How many pages is 600 words?

600 words make 0.8 pages single spaced, 1.6 pages double spaced and 2.3 pages of a printed novel. They take 3 min to read. Here is what they look like in a real novel.

From

Exactly 591 words, cut at the end of a sentence

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.

“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?”

Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.

“But it is,” returned she; “for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.”

Mr. Bennet made no answer.

“Do not you want to know who has taken it?” cried his wife, impatiently.

“You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.”

“He came down to see the place”

This was invitation enough.

“Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.”

“What is his name?”

“Bingley.”

“Is he married or single?”

“Oh, single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!”

“How so? how can it affect them?”

“My dear Mr. Bennet,” replied his wife, “how can you be so tiresome? You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them.”

“Is that his design in settling here?”

“Design? Nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes.”

“I see no occasion for that. You and the girls may go—or you may send them by themselves, which perhaps will be still better; for as you are as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley might like you the best of the party.”

“My dear, you flatter me. I certainly have had my share of beauty, but I do not pretend to be anything extraordinary now. When a woman has five grown-up daughters, she ought to give over thinking of her own beauty.”

“In such cases, a woman has not often much beauty to think of.”

“But, my dear, you must indeed go and see Mr. Bingley when he comes into the neighbourhood.”

“It is more than I engage for, I assure you.”

“But consider your daughters. Only think what an establishment it would be for one of them. Sir William and Lady Lucas are determined to go, merely on that account; for in general, you know, they visit no new comers. Indeed you must go, for it will be impossible for us to visit him, if you do not.”

“You are over scrupulous, surely. I dare say Mr. Bingley will be very glad to see you; and I will send a few lines by you to assure him of my hearty consent to his marrying whichever he chooses of the girls—though I must throw in a good word for my little Lizzy.”

“I desire you will do no such thing.

Jane Austen, 1813. From chapter I. The author died in 1817: the work is in the public domain. Source: Project Gutenberg #1342. Words are counted the way the Extypis editor counts them: a word is a run of characters holding at least one letter or digit.

What 600 words amount to

In pages

Novel pages
2.3
A5, the format of Extypis book mode
A4 pages, single spaced
0.8
Times New Roman 12 pt, 2.5 cm margins, measured on these excerpts
A4 pages, double spaced
1.6
Times New Roman 12 pt, 2.5 cm margins, measured on these excerpts

In time

Silent reading
3 min
236 words a minute (Brysbaert, 2019)
Reading aloud
3 min
190 words a minute (Brysbaert, 2019)

When writing

Typing it out
12 min
52 words a minute on average
At NaNoWriMo pace
0.4 days
1,667 words a day for a month
Share of a novel
0.8%
Out of 80,000 words

Frequently asked questions

How many pages is 600 words single spaced?

0.8 pages of A4 in Times New Roman 12 pt with 2.5 cm margins, about an inch. We measured it on four classic novels rather than using the 500-words-a-page rule of thumb.

How many pages is 600 words double spaced?

1.6 pages, same font and margins. Double spacing halves the lines on a page, so it doubles the page count.

How long does it take to read 600 words?

3 min reading silently, at 236 words a minute, the average measured for adults reading English (Brysbaert, 2019). Read aloud, at 190 words a minute, 3 min.

How long does it take to write 600 words?

Typing them out takes 12 min at 52 words a minute, the average of 168,000 people tested in 2018. Composing them takes longer: 600 words are 36% of a NaNoWriMo day, which asks for 1,667 words a day.

How much of a novel is 600 words?

0.8% of an 80,000-word novel, the middle of the usual 70,000 to 100,000 words of an adult novel.

How these figures are worked out

The excerpts are real novels, cut at the end of a sentence. Austen, Dickens, Stevenson and Melville died more than a century ago: their books are in the public domain in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and elsewhere. The texts come from Project Gutenberg, read on 1 November 2026. The number above the excerpt is its actual count, to the word.

The pages were measured, not guessed. We set the four excerpts in Times New Roman 12 pt with 2.5 cm margins and no space between paragraphs, then counted the lines: 727 words a page single spaced, 364 double spaced. The familiar “500 words a page” holds for a wider font or spaced paragraphs.

The novel page is the A5 page of Extypis book mode, 265 words, the density the editor uses to tell you how long your manuscript runs.

Reading time comes from Marc Brysbaert's meta-analysis (2019, 190 studies): 236 words a minute silently for English, 190 aloud.
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