How do I count characters in a text?
Paste or type the text into the box and the character count appears at once. The count with spaces and the count without spaces are both shown, and they update as you edit.
Character counter
See your exact character count as you type, with limits for popular platforms.
0Words
0Characters
0Without spaces
0Sentences
0Paragraphs
0 sReading time
0 sSpeaking time
0Lines
0Bytes (UTF-8)
Your text never leaves this device.
Type or paste your text to see the character count with spaces and without spaces, updated live. The counter also shows words, sentences and UTF-8 bytes, and compares your text with common limits such as an X post, a meta description or an SMS. Emoji count as one character. Your text never leaves your device.
How to use
- Type or paste your text into the box.
- Read the characters with spaces and without spaces.
- Check the limit bars for X, SEO title, meta description, SMS, Instagram and LinkedIn.
- Trim your text until the bar for your platform no longer shows red.
Frequently asked questions
Do spaces count as characters?
Yes, in the count with spaces. Most platform limits, such as an X post or a meta description, count spaces, so use that figure. The count without spaces leaves out spaces, tabs and line breaks.
Does an emoji count as one character?
Yes. This counter counts each emoji as a single character, the way people read it. Some platforms count emoji differently, so leave a little room if you are close to a limit.
Why is the byte count higher than the character count?
Bytes show how much storage the text takes in UTF-8. Plain English letters take one byte, but letters like ş, ğ or ü take two bytes, and emoji take four. That is why a Turkish text has more bytes than characters.
How many characters can I use in an X post?
A standard X (Twitter) post allows 280 characters. The counter shows how many are left. X applies its own rules to links, so a post with a link may count differently on the platform than it does here.
How long should a meta description and an SEO title be?
Aim for about 155 characters for a meta description and about 60 for an SEO title. Search engines may cut longer text, so these figures are targets, not hard limits.
How many characters fit in one SMS?
One SMS fits 160 characters in the standard alphabet. A message with characters outside it, such as Turkish ş or an emoji, uses a different encoding and is split into shorter parts, so stay well under 160.
When do I need a character counter instead of a word counter?
Words matter for essays and articles, but many places limit characters instead: a social post, a page title, a meta description, an app store field, a text message, a form with a maximum length or a database column. In these cases the number of words tells you nothing, and an exact character count is what saves you from a cut-off sentence.
A counter also helps with reverse problems. Some forms and academic submissions require a minimum, such as at least 500 characters including spaces, and the live count shows you how far you are.
Which figure should I use: with spaces or without?
For platform limits, use the count with spaces. Spaces occupy room in a post, a title or an SMS just like letters. The count without spaces is useful for forms and orders that ask for it explicitly, and for quick comparisons, because it removes the effect of spacing and line breaks.
If your text goes into a database or an API, check the byte figure as well. A field that allows 255 bytes holds fewer than 255 characters when the text contains letters such as ş, ğ and emoji, because each takes two to four bytes.
How do I fit the limits for common platforms?
The limit bars show where your text stands for six common targets. For an X post, the limit is 280 characters. For a search result, keep the title near 60 and the description near 155 so they are less likely to be cut. For Instagram captions the limit is 2,200, and for a LinkedIn post 3,000.
When you are over, cut in this order: filler words, repeated ideas, long links and finally detail. Do not delete the verb or the call to action. If you are writing for search, the title and description should still read as natural sentences, not as keyword strings.
What other tools help with the same text?
To see words, sentences, paragraphs and reading time as well, use the full word counter. If a headline has the wrong capitalization, the text case converter fixes it in one click. After you shorten a draft, text compare shows exactly what changed between two versions. All text tools are listed in text tools.
How it compares
| This tool | Upload-based services | |
|---|---|---|
| Is your text sent to a server? | No | Usually |
| Account required | No | Sometimes |
| Length or usage limit | None | Often |
| Saved or logged | Never | Possibly |
Limits and privacy
- Platform limits are approximate guides; each service can change its own rules or count some characters differently.
- The SMS limit assumes a standard-alphabet, single-part message; texts with special letters or emoji need fewer characters.
- Very long texts, several megabytes, may update more slowly.
Standards and sources
Use it in your AI assistant
Language models count tokens, not characters, so their counts are guesses. The count_text MCP tool, available remotely and locally, gives an assistant exact counts, for example to keep a caption under 2,200 characters or a meta description under 155.