Free Character Counter
Count characters, letters, words, spaces and lines in real time. Check your text against social media character limits instantly.
Platform Character Limits
How to Count Characters in Text
Paste or type your text into the box above. The character counter analyses it in real time, showing total characters (with and without spaces), letters only (a-z), numbers, spaces, words, sentences, and lines. It also checks your text against nine platform character limits: Twitter/X (280), Instagram (2,200), Facebook (63,206), LinkedIn (3,000), YouTube title (100), Pinterest (500), SMS (160), Google meta title (60), and Google meta description (155).
Characters vs Letters vs Words
These three counts measure different things. Characters include everything you type — letters, numbers, spaces, punctuation marks, emojis, and symbols. Letters count only alphabetic characters (a-z, A-Z), ignoring everything else. Words are groups of characters separated by spaces. Understanding the difference matters because social media platforms count characters, not words — and spaces count towards the limit on every major platform.
Character Limits for Every Major Platform
Why Character Count Matters for SEO
Google truncates meta titles over 60 characters and meta descriptions over 155 characters in search results. A truncated title with "..." looks unprofessional and may reduce click-through rates. Your page title should be under 60 characters and your meta description under 155 characters. This tool checks both limits in real time so you can craft SEO-perfect metadata before publishing.
How Emojis Affect Character Count
Emojis are tricky. On Twitter, most emojis count as 2 characters. On Instagram, they typically count as 1. Complex emojis (skin tone variants, family groups, flag sequences) may count as 4-7 characters depending on the platform. SMS messages with emojis switch from GSM encoding (160 chars) to UCS-2 encoding (70 chars per message). If character count is critical, test with the target platform.
Characters With Spaces vs Without Spaces
Some platforms and word processors count characters differently. Microsoft Word's character count offers both with and without spaces. Academic submissions sometimes require character counts without spaces. Legal documents often specify character limits excluding spaces. This tool shows both counts so you're covered for any requirement.
Character Counter vs Word Counter
Use a character counter when you need to hit a specific character limit (social media posts, meta tags, SMS, form fields). Use a word counter when working to a word limit (essays, articles, scripts). This tool shows both counts simultaneously. For a more detailed word analysis with reading time and keyword density, try the dedicated Word Counter.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Characters = everything (letters, numbers, spaces, punctuation, emojis). Letters = only a-z and A-Z.
Yes. On every major platform (Twitter, Instagram, SMS), spaces count towards character limits.
280 characters for free accounts. 25,000 for Premium subscribers.
Depends on the platform. Most count as 2 on Twitter, 1 on Instagram. Complex emojis can be 4-7 characters.
60 characters. Titles longer than this get truncated with "..." in search results.
No. Everything runs in your browser. No data is sent to any server or stored anywhere.
