How it works
How to use the character counter
Type or paste your text. The total character count, characters without spaces, words, lines and bytes update instantly. The platform bars show at a glance whether your text fits common limits — green fits, amber is close, red is over.
Characters with and without spaces
Characters counts everything you see, including spaces and punctuation — this is what most platforms and forms measure. No spaces is used by some translators, academic assignments and typesetting quotes. Emoji and accented letters count as one character each, the way you see them.
Common character limits
Common character limits
| Where | Limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Google search title | About 50–60 characters | Google truncates by pixel width (~600px), not an exact count |
| Meta description | About 150–160 characters | Longer text is often cut off in results |
| SMS text message | 160 characters | Emoji or special characters can reduce this to 70 per message |
| X (Twitter) post | 280 characters | Longer posts require a paid subscription |
| YouTube video title | 100 characters | Front-load the key words |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 characters | Only the first line or two show before “more” |
| LinkedIn post | 3,000 characters | The first ~200 characters show before “see more” |
Platforms change their limits from time to time, so double-check anything critical in their current help pages.
Why bytes matter
Some databases, SMS systems and APIs limit text by bytes, not characters. Plain English letters use 1 byte each in UTF-8, but accented letters use 2, many other scripts use 3, and emoji usually use 4. If a field rejects text that “should” fit, check the byte count.
Writing SEO titles and descriptions? Check how they'll actually look with the SERP Preview Tool and the Meta Description Length Checker.
Frequently asked questions
Do spaces count as characters?
Yes, in most places — including social media limits, SMS and SEO titles. Use the “No spaces” figure only when a teacher, translator or form specifically asks for it.
Do emoji count as one character?
This counter shows emoji as one character each, the way you see them. Some platforms count certain emoji as two, and SMS messages with emoji switch to a shorter 70-character limit.
How many characters is a tweet?
Standard posts on X (Twitter) allow up to 280 characters.
How many characters should a meta description be?
Aim for roughly 150–160 characters. Google can show more or less depending on the device and the pixel width of the text.
Is my text saved or uploaded?
No. Counting happens instantly in your browser and nothing you type is sent to a server or stored.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. It works in any modern mobile browser — paste or type and the counts update live.