Free tool
Proposal page-limit calculator
Section L gives you pages. Your writers think in words. Enter the page limit per volume, the mandated font, size, spacing and margins, and get a word budget for each volume before anyone starts drafting. Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Section L inputs
Copy the page limits and the font/margin rule exactly as the solicitation states them.
Word budget
≈ 527 words per page after reserving 20% for graphics, tables and headings (659 words of pure prose).
- Volume I — Technical Approach13,175 w · 25 p
- Volume II — Management & Staffing7,905 w · 15 p
- Volume III — Past Performance5,270 w · 10 p
How this is computed
- Typeface
- Times New Roman
- Font size
- 12 pt
- Line spacing
- Single (1.0)
- Margins
- 1 in
- Lines per page
- 46
- Characters per line
- 86
Averages: 6 characters per word including the space; glyph widths per typeface from published font metrics. Real prose lands within about ±10%. Section L wins over this page every time — if it says “12-point Times New Roman, one-inch margins”, that is what the evaluators measure.
Stop retyping Section L.
Shallist reads the whole solicitation package and returns the page limits, font rules, deadlines, every shall and every form — with page numbers — as a 5-sheet Excel matrix. Free preview; $19 to unlock.
Page-limit questions
Why does the font matter if the page limit is fixed?
Section L usually fixes both the page count and the typography (for example 12-point Times New Roman, one-inch margins, single spacing). Times New Roman fits roughly 10% more words per line than Arial at the same point size, so the same 25 pages hold a different amount of prose.
What counts against the page limit?
Read Section L. Cover pages, tables of contents, glossaries and cross-reference matrices are often excluded; sometimes they are not. Foldouts (11 × 17) frequently count as two pages. Shallist pulls these rules into the Key Facts sheet with the page they came from.
How much space should I reserve for graphics?
Strong technical volumes spend 20–35% of their area on figures, tables and headings. Start at 20%, then adjust once your storyboard is done. A budget you exceed by 5% forces cuts on the last night; a budget with slack lets you add a graphic where the evaluator needs one.
Is this a substitute for reading Section L?
No. It is a planning aid. The solicitation is the authority, and amendments change page limits more often than you would think. Track them.