Free online tool
Character Counter
Count characters, words and bytes as you type, and check your text against X, Instagram, SMS, Google Ads and search snippet limits.
- Instant results
- No sign-up
- Your text stays in your browser
Your text
Type or paste below. Results update as you write.
Platform limits
See how much room you have left on each platform.
Platforms change their rules. Check the platform’s own help page if a limit is critical. X counts emoji and CJK characters as 2 and every link as 23; SMS counts differently once a message contains an emoji or non-Latin character.
Title tag and meta description preview
Google trims snippets by width, not by a fixed number of characters.
example.com › page
Your page title
Your meta description will appear here.
Approximate: it measures your text in Arial at Google’s usual sizes. Google can rewrite titles and descriptions, and its widths change over time.
More details: bytes, character types, letter frequency, keywords
Encoding
Character types
Hidden characters
Reading estimates
Letter frequency
Type some text to see which letters you use most.
Repeated words
| Word | Times | Share of words |
|---|
Words that appear more than once will be listed here.
How it works
How this character counter counts
Different tools report different numbers for the same text because "a character" can mean different things. This counter shows the number a person would count by eye, and gives you the technical counts as well.
Characters
Visible characters. An emoji, a flag, or a letter with an accent counts once, even when it is stored as several pieces of data.
Without spaces
Leaves out spaces, tabs and line breaks.
Words
Groups of letters or numbers separated by spaces, the same way word processors count them. Chinese, Japanese and Thai are written without spaces, so those counts are an estimate.
Sentences
Estimated from punctuation, and common abbreviations such as "Dr." and "e.g." do not end a sentence. Treat the number as a guide.
UTF-8 bytes and UTF-16 code units
How computers store the text. They matter when a database column, an API or an older system sets its limit in bytes or code units instead of visible characters.
The same character can have very different technical sizes:
| Character | Visible characters | UTF-16 code units | UTF-8 bytes | Counted by X as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Γ© e with acute accent (single code point) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| π rocket emoji | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| πΊπΈ US flag emoji | 1 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| π¨βπ©βπ§ family emoji (3 people) | 1 | 8 | 18 | 2 |
| δ½ Chinese character | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
Reference
Character limits you can check here
The platform limits section above shows how much room you have left for each of these. The unit matters as much as the number.
| Platform and field | Limit | Counted in |
|---|---|---|
| X post (standard account) | 280 | Weighted units: most characters 1, emoji and CJK characters 2, every link 23 |
| Threads post | 500 | Characters |
| Bluesky post | 300 | Graphemes (visible characters) |
| Instagram bio | 150 | Characters |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 | Characters |
| LinkedIn post | 3,000 | Characters |
| Facebook post | 63,206 | Characters |
| YouTube video title | 100 | Characters |
| Google Ads responsive search ad headline | 30 | Characters |
| Google Ads responsive search ad description | 90 | Characters |
| SMS, plain text (GSM-7) | 160 (153 per part when split) | GSM-7 characters; a few symbols such as { } [ ] count twice |
| SMS with an emoji or non-Latin letter (UCS-2) | 70 (67 per part when split) | 16-bit code units |
Limits change. Confirm any figure that really matters on the platform's own help page.
SEO basics
Title tags and meta descriptions
Google does not publish a character limit for title links or meta descriptions. It shortens them to fit the width of the results page, so wide letters such as W and M use up space faster than narrow ones. Use the preview above to check the pixel width on desktop and mobile.
Working guide, not a rule. Keep the words that matter most near the start. Google may also rewrite either one.
Guide
How to use the character counter
- Type or paste your text into the box. The counts update as you write.
- Look at the limit you care about in Platform limits, or enter your own limit in characters or words.
- For a page title or meta description, enter it in the preview section and check the pixel width on desktop and mobile.
- Open More details for bytes, character types, letter frequency, repeated words and hidden characters, then copy the results if you need them.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do spaces count as characters?
Yes. Most platforms, forms and limits count spaces, tabs and line breaks. The Characters number includes them and Without spaces leaves them out. Some assignments and translation jobs are priced or limited without spaces, so use whichever number your situation names.
Why does an emoji count as 2 on X and in some other counters?
X weights emoji and CJK characters as 2 units out of the 280. Other systems count UTF-16 code units, where most emoji take 2 and a family or flag emoji takes 4 to 11 or more. This counter shows the visible count and the X-weighted count separately so you can see both.
Why is my count different from Word, Google Docs or another counter?
Tools disagree about emoji, accented letters typed as two keystrokes, line breaks, hyphenated words and text without spaces. This counter counts visible characters and says how it counts words and sentences. If a tool reports a higher number for text with emoji, it is probably counting code units, not visible characters.
What is the difference between characters and bytes?
A character is what you see. A byte is how it is stored. In UTF-8, basic English letters use 1 byte, accented letters 2, many Asian characters 3, and most emoji 4 or more. A database field or API that limits bytes can reject text that looks short.
How long should a title tag or meta description be?
There is no official number. Aim for a title of roughly 50 to 60 characters and a description of roughly 150 to 160, then check the pixel preview, because width decides what is shown. Put the important words first.
How many characters fit in one SMS?
A single message holds 160 characters if it uses only the standard GSM-7 character set. One emoji or non-Latin letter switches the whole message to UCS-2, which holds 70. Longer messages are split into parts of 153 (GSM-7) or 67 (UCS-2) characters.
Is my text uploaded or stored?
The counter does not send your text anywhere; counting happens in your browser. A copy is kept in your browser's local storage so a refresh does not lose your work, and Clear removes it. Like other pages on this site, this page loads advertising and analytics scripts, so avoid pasting highly confidential material into any web page you do not control.
Does it work for Chinese, Japanese, Arabic and other languages?
Yes for characters, bytes and limits. Word counts for Chinese, Japanese and Thai are estimates because those languages do not put spaces between words. Right-to-left text is counted the same way as any other text.
Can I upload a file or enter a web address?
Not at the moment. Copy the text from your document or page and paste it into the box.
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Last updated: November 2026