Cover letter length checker
Paste your letter and see immediately whether it's the length recruiters actually read — plus the two structural things that decide whether it gets skimmed or skipped.
Short answer: aim for 150–250 words, about half a page and four short paragraphs. Never more than one page.
Checked in your browser as you type. Nothing is uploaded, stored or sent anywhere.
Why 150–250
A cover letter is skimmed before it is read, usually in well under a minute and often on a phone. That budget is what sets the range: enough room to make one argument and prove it, little enough that a skim reaches the end. Below 150 words there is rarely space for evidence; past 400 the reader stops before your best point.
The full reasoning, and what to cut first when you are over, is in how long should a cover letter be.
Over the limit?
Job Badger writes a tailored letter in the right range automatically, grounded only in your real experience — free, no sign-up to try. Paste a job posting →
Built by Nenad Franjic. The guidance here is tested against real applications and their outcomes — including the rejections — rather than written from a content brief.