- 6×9 pages
- 168
- Spine
- 0.3783″
- Print cost
- $3.02
- Read aloud
- 5h33m
50,000 words · checked 2026-11-10 · KDP page limits ↗
Writing · word counts · checked 2026-11-10
Word count to pages — pages, spine, print cost and reading time
50,000 words is 167 typeset pages in a 6×9 paperback, and 168 pages once KDP rounds the file up to an even count. The same manuscript gives a 0.3783″ spine (9.61 mm), costs $3.02 to print on Amazon.com and runs 4h10m of silent reading or 5h33m read aloud. Type your own count and all six numbers move together.
6×9 paperback · 11 pt single · 50,000 words
168pages
167 typeset pages → 168 after KDP's even-page round
50,000 words ÷ 300 words a page · black ink on white paper · rates checked 2026-11-10 · Printing cost ↗ / Page limits ↗
- Word doc 12 pt double
- 200 pp
- 5×8 paperback
- 192 pp
- Spine · 9.61 mm
- 0.3783″
- Print cost, US
- $3.02
- Silent reading
- 4h10m
- Read aloud
- 5h33m
Your manuscript
Paste the count from Word, Google Docs or Scrivener. Six numbers follow it.
Jump to a worked example
Same pure functions as the six pages below; expect ±5% on a real typeset file.
Same words, six KDP trims
- 5 × 8192 pages260/page
- 5.25 × 8192 pages260/page
- 5.5 × 8.5192 pages260/page
- 6 × 9168 pages6 × 9
- 7 × 10168 pages300/page
- 8.5 × 11120 pages420/page
Which trim to pick
6 × 9
Novels and narrative nonfiction. 300 words a page — the default everywhere on this site.
5 × 8
The mass-market pocket feel. 260 words a page, so the same manuscript runs longer and the spine gets thick enough for text sooner.
8.5 × 11
Workbooks, journals and activity books. 420 words a page — the fewest pages, the cheapest print.
Trim moves the page count, the spine and the print cost — never the words. Work it back the other way with the book spine width calculator.
Six worked examples
The same table, for the word counts people actually search
Six counts cover the range from a lead magnet to a doorstop novel. Each one has its own page with the full breakdown; the table here puts them side by side so you can see what doubling the manuscript does to the spine.
- 3,000words10 pp · prints as 24 (minimum)15m read20m aloud3,000 words breakdown →
- 10,000words34 pages · spine 0.0766″50m read1h07m aloud10,000 words breakdown →
- 30,000words100 pages · spine 0.2252″2h30m read3h20m aloud30,000 words breakdown →
- 50,000words168 pages · spine 0.3783″4h10m read5h33m aloud50,000 words breakdown →
- 70,000words234 pages · spine 0.5270″5h50m read7h47m aloud70,000 words breakdown →
- 90,000words300 pages · spine 0.6756″7h30m read10h00m aloud90,000 words breakdown →
Shade is relative page count, not quality. The ceiling for this ink type is 828 pages, so even 90,000 words at 8.5×11 leaves room.
Reading time is two numbers, not one
Silent reading runs at 200 words a minute, aloud at 150 — the pace a narrator sustains in front of a microphone. So 50,000 words is 4h10m to read and 5h33m to record, and 90,000 words is 7h30m and 10h00m. Use the aloud figure to budget studio time and the silent one to judge whether a reader finishes in one sitting or three.
How the page count is worked out
Pages = words ÷ words per page, rounded up to an even number because KDP pads an odd interior with a blank leaf. Words per page is a calibration: 300 for 6×9 at 11 pt single spacing, 260 for 5×8, 420 for an 8.5×11 workbook, 250 for a Word document at 12 pt double. Chapter openers and dialogue-heavy spreads move a real file by ±5%, so treat the figure as the centre of a range. Printing follows the KDP count: $2.30 flat to 110 pages, then $1.00 plus $0.012 a page.
Assumptions on every page in this family: 6×9 paperback, 11 pt single spacing, black ink on white paper, Amazon.com rates checked 2026-11-10. Spine = pages × 0.002252″ per sheet. Official limits: KDP submission guidelines ↗ and paperback printing cost ↗.
Questions
Word count questions, answered with numbers
167 pages in a 6×9 paperback at 11 pt single spacing, and 168 pages once KDP rounds the interior file up to an even count. A Word document at 12 pt double spacing runs to 200 pages, a 5×8 paperback to 192 and an 8.5×11 workbook to 120.
Multiply pages by the words-per-page of the profile you are using: 300 for a 6×9 paperback, 260 for 5×8, 420 for an 8.5×11 workbook and 250 for a Word document at 12 pt double spacing. A 200-page 6×9 book is about 60,000 words.
A Word page is an 8.5×11 sheet at 12 pt double spacing, which holds about 250 words. A typeset 6×9 page at 11 pt single spacing holds about 300, so the same manuscript is shorter in print — and then KDP adds a blank page when the file ends on an odd number.
4 hours 10 minutes of silent reading at 200 words a minute, or 5 hours 33 minutes read aloud at 150 words a minute — the pace a narrator actually sustains. Both figures come from the same word count, so they scale linearly with it.
Where to go next
The page count is the start of the money conversation, not the end of it.