# Free Screenplay Length Checker > Check a feature, pilot, or short against page-count practice, official contest windows, and a published feature corpus — then export a memo you can send with the draft. Check a feature, pilot, or short against page-count practice, official contest windows, and a published feature corpus — then export a memo you can send with the draft. Useful output, not a score ## What this tool gives you ### Reader-clock placement See whether a page count sits in the typical band, the tighter comfort band, or outside current practice for the format you chose. ### Official windows, not sample caps Compare the same count to contest windows that publish a full-draft range — and skip first-five-page caps that are not length rules. ### Redacted handoff memo Copy a memo that records the verdict, the windows, and optional story-word notes without including screenplay body text. ## How to use it 1. 1 ### Choose a format and enter the page count Pick feature, half-hour, hour, or short, then type the current page count from a laid-out PDF. Optionally open a Final Draft .fdx for story-word context. 2. 2 ### Read the placement against published windows The checker maps the count onto typical and comfort bands, official contest windows, and — for features — a published narrative-word corpus used as a planning proxy, not a page measurement. 3. 3 ### Export the memo Copy a redacted memo you can attach to notes or a cover letter. The memo never includes scene text from the opened file. ## How to read the result Treat the placement as a reader-clock signal, not a quality score. Confirm the laid-out PDF before a contest or manager asks for pages, and use story words from a Final Draft file only as MovieSum context — never as a substitute page count. ## Questions writers ask ### Does this tell me the script is good? No. Page count is a reader signal — how long the draft feels in the chair — not a quality score. A 98-page feature can still be slack; a 118-page feature can still be tight. ### Why is the corpus shown in words instead of pages? The published MovieSum feature set reports narrative word counts, not formatted pages. The desk uses that distribution as a planning proxy and states the conversion in the open so the number cannot be mistaken for a measured page count. ### Which contests actually publish a full-draft page window? The Submission Center lists one full-draft window: Nicholl at 80–125 pages. Confirm the official page before you send — a listed range is not the same as an open window. Sample-only caps, such as a five-page first-round limit, are not treated as length rules. ### Can I open a Final Draft FDX? Yes. Open a local .fdx for story-word and scene-count context. Page numbers inside Final Draft are not the reader-facing count — confirm the laid-out PDF. ### Does the length checker upload my screenplay? Only if you choose Continue in Plot. The page-count check and optional Final Draft parse run in your browser. Continue in Plot sends a copy of the draft so it opens as a new Plot project, and Inkwell keeps that copy for 24 hours. The file name stays on your device. ## Defined in the glossary - [Page Count](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/page-count) [The number of story pages a reader sees in a laid-out screenplay PDF. It is an early estimate of runtime and writer discipline — a pacing signal, not a stopwatch and not a quality score.](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/page-count) - [Pilot](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/pilot) [A pilot is the first episode of a TV series, written and often filmed to sell the show. It introduces the characters, the world and the kind of story the series can tell week after week.](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/pilot) - [Spec Script](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/spec-script) [A screenplay written on speculation — no deal yet — meant to sell the story or showcase craft. Specs usually skip production numbering and camera direction.](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/spec-script) - [Feature Film](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/feature-film) [A full-length movie, defined by the Academy, the AFI and the BFI as running more than 40 minutes; most run 90 to 120 minutes, from screenplays of about 90 to 120 pages.](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/feature-film) ## Keep working with the draft ### [Free Screenplay Analyzer](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/screenplay-analyzer) [Analyze scene pacing, dialogue/action balance, character share, and locations from a Fountain screenplay—privately in your browser, with free CSV reports.](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/screenplay-analyzer) [Open tool](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/screenplay-analyzer) ### [Free Final Draft FDX Inspector](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/fdx-inspector) [Open an FDX file privately in your browser to inventory revision sets, locked pages, scene numbers, and portability risks before you import or convert.](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/fdx-inspector) [Open tool](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/fdx-inspector) ### [Free Script Breakdown Tool](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/script-breakdown) [Break down a Fountain or Final Draft screenplay privately in your browser: scene sheets, eighths, cast, locations, day/night, and exportable CSVs.](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/script-breakdown) [Open tool](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/script-breakdown) ### [WGA Minimums 2026: How Much Screenwriters Make](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/wga-minimums) [What a screenwriter is paid at minimum in 2026: official WGA floors for a feature screenplay, a TV episode, a staff week and streaming residuals, free.](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/wga-minimums) [Open tool](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/wga-minimums) Continue in Plot and keep writing, with the screenplay formatting done for you. 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