Google Docs Word Count: Shortcut, Live Counter and Mobile Steps
3 min read
Short answer
On a computer
- Open the document in Google Docs.
- Press Ctrl + Shift + C on Windows or ChromeOS, or ⌘ + Shift + C on a Mac. Or use the menu: Tools → Word count.
- The box shows pages, words, characters and characters excluding spaces. Click Done to close it.
Keep the count on screen while you type
In the word count box, tick Display word count while typing, then click OK. A small counter stays in the bottom-left corner and updates as you write. Click it to switch between pages, words, characters and characters without spaces.
This is the setting to turn on for anything with a limit, such as an essay, an application answer or an abstract. You see the number move without opening the box every few minutes.
Count only part of a document
Select the text first, then open word count. Google Docs shows the count for your selection alongside the total for the whole document. Use it to check one section of an essay, a single answer in an application form, or an abstract on its own.
On Android, iPhone and iPad
- Open the document in the Google Docs app.
- Tap More (the three dots).
- Tap Word count.
The app shows words, characters and characters excluding spaces. As on a computer, select some text first if you want the count for just that part.
What Google Docs leaves out
Unless you select part of the document, the count covers everything except headers, footers and footnotes. Two practical consequences:
- Footnotes are not counted. If your brief counts footnotes towards the limit, as some law and history departments do, add them up separately. Select the footnote text and count it, or paste it into a counter.
- A title in the header is not counted, but a title typed in the body is. Most essay limits exclude the title, so check where yours sits before you trim words you did not need to.
Word count is only available in Google Docs itself, not in Sheets or Slides. To count text from those, copy it into a document or into a counter.
Why another counter may show a slightly different number
Google does not publish exactly how it splits text into words, and no two counters make every decision the same way. Hyphenated words, numbers with commas, URLs, dashes with spaces around them and in-text citations are where totals usually drift apart. For ordinary prose the difference is a handful of words at most. If someone will check your work in Google Docs, treat their number as the one that counts, and leave yourself a small margin under a hard limit.
Paste here for more than a word count
Google Docs tells you words and characters. Paste the same text into the word counter and you also get sentences, paragraphs, reading time, speaking time, reading level and your most repeated words, all worked out in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, so it is safe for drafts you would rather keep private.
The writing checker goes further and highlights long sentences, passive voice and filler words, which is usually the quickest way to cut a draft down to a limit.
Frequently asked questions
What is the shortcut for word count in Google Docs? Ctrl + Shift + C on Windows and ChromeOS, ⌘ + Shift + C on a Mac. It is listed in Google’s keyboard shortcuts for Docs.
Why is the word count missing from the bottom of my screen? The live counter is off by default. Open Tools → Word count and tick Display word count while typing.
Does Google Docs count footnotes? No. Headers, footers and footnotes are left out of the total unless you select that text yourself.
Can I see the word count on my phone? Yes. In the Google Docs app, tap More, then Word count.
How do I count words in Microsoft Word instead? The count sits in Word’s status bar, and the shortcut is Ctrl + Shift + G (⌘ + Shift + G on a Mac). The Google Docs, Word and Pages guide covers all three side by side.
Steps checked against Google’s official help page, Count the words in a document, on 4 October 2026.