How to Check Word Count in Apple Pages (Mac, iPhone & iPad)

You are writing an essay in Apple Pages, the limit is 1,000 words, and one question matters more than anything: how many words have I written so far? Pages does count your words — it just hides the counter until you switch it on. This guide shows the exact steps on Mac, iPhone and iPad, plus what to do when you need more than a simple count.

On a Mac: Show Word Count From the View Menu

Step 1: Open your document in Pages. Step 2: Click View in the menu bar at the very top of the screen. Step 3: Click Show Word Count. A small count now appears at the bottom of the document window and stays there while you work, updating live as you type, delete and paste.

Here is the part many people miss: click on that little count at the bottom and a small panel opens with much more — words, characters, characters without spaces, paragraphs and pages. You can also choose which number stays visible at the bottom, so if your teacher set a character limit instead of a word limit, you can watch characters instead.

Counting Only Part of the Document

Need the length of just one section — say, only your introduction? Select (highlight) that text with the mouse, and the count at the bottom changes to show the selected words. Click anywhere to go back to the whole-document count. This is the fastest way to check an abstract, a summary, or one chapter at a time.

On iPhone and iPad

Step 1: Open your document in the Pages app. Step 2: Tap the More button (…) near the top of the screen. Step 3: Open View Options and turn on Word Count. The count now shows on screen as you write. If you do not see View Options, update Pages from the App Store first — older versions place this setting in slightly different spots, but it is always reached from that same More menu.

What Pages Does Not Tell You

The Pages counter is honest but basic. It will not tell you your reading time or speaking time for a presentation, it does not count sentences in a useful breakdown, it has no target or progress bar for a word goal, and it cannot count words inside a PDF or Word file you received. For those jobs, use our free Word Counter: paste your Pages text (or upload the file — PDF, Word, Excel and CSV all work) and you instantly get words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, reading time, speaking time and a live progress bar toward any word target you set.

Quick Answers for Common Situations

Essay limit: Turn on Show Word Count once and leave it on — the number lives at the bottom for every document from then on. Character limit (like a personal statement): Click the count and watch “Characters” instead. Counting a received .docx or PDF: Pages can open Word files and count them the same way; for PDFs, the Word Counter tool above is the quicker route — compare our guide on How to Check Word Count in Microsoft Word if you switch between the two apps, and our OneNote word count guide if your notes live there.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Apple Pages have a word count?
Yes. On Mac it is under View, then Show Word Count. On iPhone and iPad, turn on Word Count from the More menu’s View Options.

Why can I not see the word count in Pages?
Because it is off by default. It only appears after you switch it on with the steps above; there is nothing wrong with your document.

Can Pages count characters without spaces?
Yes — click the count at the bottom of the Mac window and choose the “Characters (no spaces)” figure to display it.

Does the count include text boxes and footnotes?
The main count covers the body text of your document. If an exact figure matters for submission, paste the final text into the Word Counter as a double-check, the same way careful students verify a count before handing work in.

So: one menu on Mac, one setting on iPhone — and your Pages word count is never hidden again.