Words Per Day Calculator
Set a word target and a deadline, say how much you've already written and which days you write, and see exactly how many words you need each writing day — with a dated schedule of running totals and a progress log that remembers your word counts in this browser. One-click presets cover NaNoWriMo and a thesis chapter.
Presets
Enter a target word count and a deadline.
Progress log
Each time you write, update "Words written so far" with your document's word count and log it. The log shows how much you added each time.
No entries yet.
Your goal and log are saved in this browser's local storage, so they're here when you come back on this device. Nothing is uploaded.
How to Use the Words Per Day Calculator
- 1. Set the goal. Enter your target word count and the deadline, or click a preset — NaNoWriMo fills in 50,000 words over 30 days, Thesis chapter 10,000 words over six weeks of weekdays.
- 2. Enter what you've written. Put your document's current word count in Words written so far. The plan covers only the words still to write.
- 3. Pick your writing days. Untick days you won't write; the quota is shared over the days left ticked, from the start date to the deadline.
- 4. Log your progress. After each session, update your word count and click Log today's total. The log records how much you added each day and stays in this browser for when you come back.
How the Daily Target Is Worked Out
Words per writing day
words per day = ⌈(target − words written) ÷ writing days⌉
⌈ ⌉ means round up: a quota rounded down would leave you a few words short on the last day.
The dated schedule works from running totals rather than repeating the quota. By the end of writing day i of n you should have reached ⌈i × words to go ÷ n⌉ more words — so the daily figures never differ by more than one word, and the final day lands exactly on your target instead of overshooting it.
Worked example: NaNoWriMo
The November challenge popularised by National Novel Writing Month is 50,000 words in 30 days. 50,000 ÷ 30 = 1,666.67, so the quota is 1,667 words a day. The schedule runs 1,667, 1,667, 1,666 and repeats, reaching exactly 50,000 on day 30.
Now suppose you start on 1 November 2026 and, ten days in, have written 12,000 words — behind the 16,667 the schedule expected by then. Set the start date to 11 November and your words written to 12,000: the remaining 38,000 words over the remaining 20 days is a new quota of 1,900 a day.
Worked example: a thesis chapter on weekdays
A 10,000-word chapter written Monday to Friday over the six weeks from Monday 5 October to Sunday 15 November 2026 has 30 writing days. 10,000 ÷ 30 = 333.33, so the quota is 334, and the schedule alternates 334, 333, 333 so that the last weekday brings the total to exactly 10,000. If 2,500 words are already drafted, the 7,500 left over the same 30 days is exactly 250 a day.
Making a Daily Word Count Stick
- Write first, edit later. A drafting day is for new words. If you revise as you go, the count barely moves and the quota starts to feel impossible.
- Keep a buffer. Set the deadline a few days before the real one. When a day goes badly, the buffer absorbs it without raising every remaining day's target.
- Make sessions concrete. "334 words before lunch" is easier to start than "work on the chapter". A Pomodoro Timer turns the quota into two or three focused sprints.
- Count the same way every time. Log the total from the same document and the same counter — your word processor, or the Word Counter — so the daily changes are comparable.
- Re-plan rather than catch up in one go. After a missed day, enter your current total with today as the start date. Spreading the shortfall over the days left is gentler than doubling tomorrow.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many words a day do I need for NaNoWriMo?
- 1,667. The goal is 50,000 words in 30 days, and 50,000 ÷ 30 is 1,666.67, which rounds up to 1,667. Writing 1,667 every single day would finish 10 words over, which is why the schedule shows a 1,666 day every third day.
- Does the start date count as a writing day?
- Yes, if its weekday is ticked. If you've already finished writing for today, set the start date to tomorrow so the quota is spread over the days you still have.
- Where is my progress log saved?
- In your browser's local storage on this device, together with your target, dates and writing days. It is never uploaded, it won't appear on another device or browser, and private browsing or clearing site data removes it. "Forget saved data" deletes it straight away.
- What should I do when I fall behind?
- Update Words written so far with your real total and set the start date to today. The calculator spreads what is left over the remaining writing days and shows the new quota — usually a modest increase rather than a single impossible day.
- How long should a thesis chapter be?
- It depends on your discipline, your degree and your institution's limits, so check your programme's guidance first. A practical approach is to share your overall word limit between chapters according to their role, then plan each chapter here with its own target and deadline.
- Why are some days one word lower than the quota?
- The quota is rounded up, so writing it every day would overshoot the target. The schedule follows running totals instead, which makes a few days one word lighter and lands the final day exactly on your target.