How to Check Word Count on Microsoft Word
The status bar shows it, the Review tab explains it, and the selection trick counts just one section.
Word puts the count in three places and each one answers a different question. Knowing all three saves you from copying your document into a website every time a limit is mentioned.
The status bar
Bottom left of the window, always visible, showing something like Page 1 of 4, 1,204 words. Click the words figure and the full Word Count dialog opens. This is the fastest route and the one most people miss.
If the count is missing, right click the status bar and tick Word Count from the list that appears. Everything about the status bar is configurable through that menu.
Review tab
Open the Review tab and click Word Count in the Proofing group. The dialog reports pages, words, characters with and without spaces, paragraphs and lines. There is also a checkbox to include textboxes, footnotes and endnotes, which changes the totals materially in academic documents.
Counting one section
Select the text, then click the status bar figure or open the dialog. Word now reports two columns: the selection and the entire document. This is the standard way to check whether an abstract, a section or a single paragraph meets a limit.
Making the count permanent
For a document you are actively trimming, keep the count in view at all times. Insert, Quick Parts, Field, then choose NumWords. The number appears as a field and updates when you print or press F9 after selecting it. Or add it to the status bar and stop thinking about it.
Footnotes and the checkbox
By default Word includes footnotes and endnotes in the total but excludes text boxes, unless you tick the box. Journal submission systems vary in what they count, so check the guideline. A 500 word abstract that excludes footnotes can lose or gain thirty words depending on that single checkbox.
On Mac and in Word Online
Word for Mac shows the count in the status bar at the bottom of the window and in Tools, Word Count. Word on the web shows it bottom left and opens the same dialog when clicked. Mobile versions put it behind the edit menu.
Keep reading
How Do You Get Word Count on Pages
Apple Pages hides the running total in the footer. Here is where to find it and how to keep it on screen while you write.
How to Find Word Count on Google Docs
Three ways to open the word count panel in Google Docs, plus the setting that keeps it visible in the corner.