280 characters remaining
How it works
The Character Counter counts your text live, entirely in your browser. The headline figure counts every character including spaces, line breaks, and punctuation, the way social platforms, SMS, and search engines do. Choose a platform from the "Fits in" menu and the gauge tracks your text against that limit, turning amber as you approach it and red once you exceed it.
- Characters are counted as Unicode code points, with and without spaces.
- Platform presets cover X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, SEO title and meta description, Google Ads, and SMS, plus a custom limit.
- Words, sentences, paragraphs, and reading time are shown too, so it doubles as a quick word counter.
Nothing is uploaded; your latest text is remembered only in your own browser.
What you will see
- Character count + gauge
- Your live character count against the selected platform limit, with a progress bar and a remaining (or over-by) readout.
- Fits in
- The platform whose limit you are checking against. Pick a preset or choose "Custom limit" to enter your own.
- Characters (no spaces)
- The same count with all whitespace removed, for fields that exclude spaces.
- Words, Sentences, Paragraphs
- Standard text counts, so this works as a word counter too.
- Reading time
- Estimated silent reading time at 225 words per minute.
Frequently asked questions
How does the character counter work?
Type or paste your text and the character count updates instantly, with no button to press. Pick a platform from the "Fits in" menu, for example an X/Twitter post or a meta description, and a gauge shows how many characters you have used, how many remain, and warns you the moment you go over the limit.
Does the count include spaces?
The headline count and the platform gauge include spaces, line breaks, and punctuation, because that is how social networks, SMS, and search engines count. We also show "Characters (no spaces)" separately for fields or assignments that exclude whitespace.
Is it free, and is my text private?
Completely free, no signup. Everything is counted locally in your browser, so your text is never uploaded or stored on our servers. Your latest text is kept only in your own browser so it survives a reload.
Why does X (Twitter) sometimes show a different count?
X counts most characters the same way we do, but it counts every URL as 23 characters regardless of length, and counts many CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) characters as two. Our counter shows the true character count, so for plain text it matches X, while text with links may read a little differently inside X.
What are the most common character limits?
Frequently used ones: X/Twitter post 280, X bio 160, Instagram caption 2,200, Instagram bio 150, meta description ~160, SEO title tag ~60 (a pixel limit, so this is a guide), SMS 160, LinkedIn post 3,000, LinkedIn headline 220, YouTube title 100, and Google Ads headline 30. Pick any of these from the menu or set a custom limit.
Can I set my own character limit?
Yes. Choose "Custom limit" from the menu and enter any number, for example a 500-character bio field or a 2,000-character form. The gauge and the remaining-characters readout adapt to your custom target.
How are characters counted for emoji and accented letters?
Characters are counted as Unicode code points, so an emoji or an accented letter such as "é" counts as one character, matching what you see on screen. Note that some platforms count certain emoji or CJK characters as two.