Character Counter

What is the Character Counter?

The Character Counter counts as you type: characters with and without spaces, words, sentences, paragraphs, and estimated reading and speaking time. It also shows how your text measures against common limits, so you know at a glance whether a tweet, a meta description, a LinkedIn headline or an app store listing will fit. Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing is saved.

How to use it

1. Paste or type your text into the box. The counts update on every keystroke.
2. Read the stats bar: characters, characters without spaces, words, sentences, paragraphs.
3. Check the limit indicators for the platform you are writing for; they turn red when you go over.
4. Use Copy or Clear when you are done.

Common limits worth knowing

• Google title tag: about 60 characters (measured in pixels, so wide letters count for more). Meta description: about 155 to 160.
• X / Twitter post: 280 characters; links count as 23 regardless of length.
• Instagram caption: 2,200, but only the first 125 show before “more”. Bio: 150.
• LinkedIn headline: 220. Post: 3,000, first 210 shown before “see more”.
• YouTube title: 100 (70 shown in most places). Description: 5,000.
• SMS: 160 characters per segment, 70 if you include an emoji or accented character.

The full table, including Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, app stores and email subject lines, and the counting rules that catch people out, is in character limits for every platform.

How counting works

A character is one Unicode code point in most tools, but some platforms count differently: emoji can count as two, and certain accented letters count as one or two depending on how they were typed. Words are split on whitespace, so “e-mail” is one word and “e mail” is two. Sentences are split on full stops, question marks and exclamation marks followed by a space, which is why “e.g. this” can throw the count off by one. Reading time assumes about 230 words per minute; speaking time about 150.

Related tools

Check the reading level of the same text with the Readability Checker, see how often you repeat a phrase with the Keyword Density Checker, and preview a title and description in Google with the SERP Snippet Preview.

Frequently asked questions

Do spaces count as characters?

On almost every platform, yes. The tool shows both figures so you can use whichever the platform specifies.

Does it count emoji correctly?

Emoji are counted as one character here. Twitter and SMS count some as two; check the platform note.

Is my text stored?

No. Counting happens in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.

Is there a length limit?

No. A whole book chapter counts instantly.