text tool
Number to words converter
Type a number or an amount and it is written out in English words as you type, as dollars and cents, pounds and pence, or a plain number. A second line gives the words with the figures in brackets, capitalised the way a contract, an invoice or a cheque prints them.
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- Runs on your device, nothing is uploaded
- Free, no sign in
- No watermark, no file limit
How it works
- 1
Type the number
Type or paste it into the box, such as 48,250.50 or $1250. The words update on every keystroke.
- 2
Pick how to write it
Choose Dollars and cents, Pounds and pence, or Just the number. Decimals in a plain number are read digit by digit after point.
- 3
Set the style
Choose the capitals, cents in words or as a fraction, whether to say and after hundred, and whether to end with only.
- 4
Copy the words or the document line
Copy the words gives the words alone. Copy words and figures gives the line with the figures in brackets.
Why documents write amounts in words
Figures are easy to alter and easy to misread: a stray 0 or a misplaced point changes an amount by a factor of ten. Words are much harder to change without it showing, which is why cheques, promissory notes, loan agreements and deeds write the amount in words with the figures beside it. The law backs the words. The UK Bills of Exchange Act 1882 says that where a sum is written in words and figures and they differ, the words are the amount payable, and the US Uniform Commercial Code says words prevail over numbers. Getting the words right is therefore the part that counts.
Dollars, pounds and the small units
With Dollars and cents chosen, 1,250.75 becomes one thousand two hundred and fifty dollars and seventy-five cents, and one dollar or one cent stays singular. Pounds and pence works the same way, with one penny for a single unit and pence for the rest. A cheque often writes the cents as a fraction instead, 75/100, which you can switch on, and ends the line with only so nothing can be added after it. Amounts with more than two decimal places are rounded to the nearest cent, and 0.995 correctly becomes one dollar. A whole amount simply ends at the unit, with no and zero cents.
And after hundred, and the short scale
British and Australian English say one hundred and five; American English usually says one hundred five. The checkbox switches between the two, and the same rule covers one thousand and five, where the and comes before the last part when it is under a hundred. Every scale word follows the short scale, where each step is a thousand times the last: a million is 10^6, a billion is 10^9 and a trillion is 10^12. That has been standard British usage for decades too, but an older British text may mean a million million by billion, so check before quoting one.
Plain numbers and decimals
With Just the number chosen, there are no units, and decimals are read the way they are spoken: 3.14 is three point one four, with each digit named rather than read as fourteen. Leading zeros are dropped, a minus sign becomes minus, and an amount in brackets, the accounting style for a negative, is read as negative too. Hyphens join the tens and units from twenty-one to ninety-nine, as English style guides advise. Numbers are handled as text the whole way through, so a 30 digit number is written out exactly rather than rounded the way a calculator would.
Limits worth knowing
The words are English only, on the short scale, and stop at the decillions, which is 36 digits. Scientific notation such as 1.5e6 is refused with a request to write the number in full. A negative money amount is written, but flagged, since a cheque or a payment clause cannot be for less than zero. Check every amount against the figures before a document is signed. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is stored, ever.
Limits
- English only; short scale (billion = 10^9).
- Up to 36 digits before the decimal point, which reaches the decillions. A longer number gets a plain message instead of words.
- Money is rounded to the nearest cent or penny, and the page says when that happened.
- Commas are read only as thousands separators, so 12,50 is refused with a note to write 12.50.
What it does not do
- It does not write ordinals such as twenty-first, or years read aloud such as nineteen eighty.
- It does not convert between currencies; it writes the amount you type in the unit you pick.
- It does not upload or store any amount you type.
Questions people ask
How do I write a cheque amount in words?
Choose Dollars and cents or Pounds and pence, type the amount, and switch Cents or pence to As a fraction with End with only ticked. 1,250.75 then reads One thousand two hundred and fifty dollars and 75/100 only. Write it starting at the far left of the line and draw a line through any space left after it, so nothing can be added.
Is it forty or fourty?
Forty. The u in four is dropped in forty, even though fourteen and four keep it. Fourty is a common slip in amounts written by hand, and it looks careless on a contract or a cheque. Ninety, on the other hand, keeps the e from nine. The converter always uses the standard spellings, so copying its words avoids both mistakes.
Should I write and in one hundred and five?
In Australia, the UK, New Zealand and most of the Commonwealth, yes: one hundred and five. In the US the and is usually left out, and some American teachers reserve and for the decimal point, as in one hundred five and 50/100. Both are correct in their own country. Untick the and checkbox for the American style.
What happens if the words and the figures on a document differ?
Under the UK Bills of Exchange Act and the US Uniform Commercial Code, the words win for a cheque or other negotiable instrument. Some contracts add their own clause saying the same. A mismatch still invites a dispute, so the safest habit is to generate the words from the figures, paste both into the document, and read them against each other before anyone signs.
How do I write a number in words with capitals for a contract?
Pick Title Case or UPPER CASE under Capitals. Title Case gives One Thousand Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars, with and left in lower case as legal drafting usually does, while UPPER CASE matches documents that set amounts in capitals for emphasis. Copy words and figures adds the figures in brackets, which is the form most agreements use the first time an amount appears.
Write the agreement around the amount
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Background reading: the question page on this.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .