How to count characters
- Type or paste your text into the box.
- Read the live totals: characters, characters without spaces, words, lines and bytes.
- To work to a limit, type a number or choose a preset. A bar and message show how much space is left or how far over you are.
- Copy your text when it fits.
Why character limits matter
Many places cut off or reject text that is too long: posts on X (Twitter) allow 280 characters, an SMS segment holds 160, and search engines typically show around 60 characters of a page title and about 160 of a meta description. Writing to the limit means your message is seen in full instead of ending with “…”.
This character counter counts what you actually see. A heart emoji, a flag or a letter with an accent counts as one character, even though some of them are stored as several code units. The byte count shows the size in UTF-8, which matters for databases, filenames and systems that limit bytes rather than characters. The status message changes colour and wording as you approach and pass the limit, so it doesn’t rely on colour alone.
Handy presets
- X (Twitter) post: 280 characters.
- SEO title: about 60 characters. Meta description: about 160.
- SMS: 160 characters per message.
- Instagram caption: 2,200. LinkedIn post: 3,000. YouTube title: 100.
Character counter FAQ
Do spaces count as characters?
Usually yes. Most platforms include spaces, which is the main “Characters” figure. “Without spaces” is shown for assignments and forms that exclude them.
Why do some platforms count emoji as two?
Some systems count code units instead of visible characters. If a platform rejects text that looks within the limit, leave a little spare room.
Do line breaks count?
Yes, each line break counts as one character, just like on most social platforms.