How long should a cover letter be in pages?

Half a page to three-quarters of a page in 11 or 12 point font with normal margins. Anything that crosses to page two is too long for almost every role.

Is 500 words too long for a cover letter?

For most roles, yes. For senior and executive roles, 500 words can work if every paragraph is doing real work. As a default, aim for 300 to 350.

Do hiring managers actually read cover letters?

Some do, many do not, and an increasing number of pipelines never surface them to a human at all. When they are read, they are scanned in 30 to 60 seconds. Write for that scan: short paragraphs, specific claims, and a clear ask.

How Many Words Should a Cover Letter Be? (~250-400 Words)

A cover letter should be 250 to 400 words — about half to three-quarters of a single page in standard 11- or 12-point formatting. Hiring managers spend an average of 30 to 60 seconds on cover letters during initial screening; anything that does not fit inside that attention window does not get read. Most experienced hiring guides recommend writing closer to 300 words rather than to the upper limit.

How we calculated it

The structure that consistently performs in hiring research is: a 50-word opening that names the role and one specific reason you fit, a 150-word middle that ties one or two specific accomplishments to the job's top requirements, and a 75 to 100-word close that proposes a next step. Total: 275 to 325 words. This structure respects the screener's time and signals that you can write concisely under professional pressure.

For senior or executive roles, cover letters can extend to 400 to 500 words, but only if the additional length carries weight. A vague paragraph about "passion for the mission" wastes the additional 150 words and signals that you padded the letter to look thorough. A specific 150-word paragraph naming a strategic project you led, the metric you moved, and how that maps to the hiring company's known priorities earns the length.

For applications submitted through automated systems (ATS), keep the cover letter at 300 to 350 words and ensure it reads cleanly when stripped of formatting. Many ATS pipelines parse cover letters as plain text and hide them from human reviewers entirely — a long cover letter in those pipelines is wasted effort. The resume is the document that matters most in those funnels.

Count your own words

Paste your draft into the free word counter to see exactly how many words you have written, plus character count, reading time, and speaking time. The tool runs entirely in your browser — your text is never uploaded.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a cover letter be in pages?: Half a page to three-quarters of a page in 11 or 12 point font with normal margins. Anything that crosses to page two is too long for almost every role.
Is 500 words too long for a cover letter?: For most roles, yes. For senior and executive roles, 500 words can work if every paragraph is doing real work. As a default, aim for 300 to 350.
Do hiring managers actually read cover letters?: Some do, many do not, and an increasing number of pipelines never surface them to a human at all. When they are read, they are scanned in 30 to 60 seconds. Write for that scan: short paragraphs, specific claims, and a clear ask.

Related word counts

How many words in a resume summary? — about 90 words
How many words in a college admission essay? — about 650 words
How many words in a elevator pitch? — about 100 words

More in Written Formats

Conventional word-count ranges for novels, short fiction, essays, and longform articles.

Last reviewed: May 2026. Word-count guidelines are based on the standard 130 wpm speaking pace, 150 wpm narration pace, and 250 wpm silent reading pace; adjust to your own delivery for best accuracy.