MSMuhammad Shahid

Free tool · runs in your browser

Character counter

Count every character in your text, with and without spaces, and see how much room is left for a post, SMS or meta description.

Characters0
Without spaces0
Letters0
Digits0
Spaces and line breaks0
Punctuation and symbols0
Lines0
Size in UTF-80 bytes

280 characters left

An emoji or accented letter counts as one character, as people see it. Your text stays in your browser.

Quick answer

Paste your text to see the total characters, the count without spaces, and separate counts of letters, digits, spaces and punctuation. It also compares the text with common limits, such as 280 characters on X and 160 in one standard SMS. An emoji counts as one character, as you see it.

How to use it

  1. Paste your text. The count updates as you type.
  2. Read the counts. See characters with and without spaces, letters, digits, punctuation, lines and bytes.
  3. Check a limit. Pick a platform to see how many characters are left or how many to cut.

Example

A short phrase with one space and one emoji, which counts as a single character:

Input

Hello world 👍

Output

Characters: 13
Without spaces: 11
Letters: 10
Size in UTF-8: 16 bytes

Common errors and how to fix them

My count differs from the website limit
That site may count links or emoji by its own rules, or trim spaces at the ends. Leave some margin and trust the counter on the site you are posting to.
The count is higher than I expected
Pasted text can bring hidden line breaks or double spaces. Clean it with the remove extra spaces tool, then count again.

Frequently asked questions

Do spaces count as characters?

Usually yes. Most forms and social networks count spaces, so the main number here includes them. Some school and publishing limits exclude spaces, so that count is shown too.

How many characters can an X (Twitter) post have?

280 for standard accounts. X also weighs some characters differently: a link always counts as 23 and many emoji count as 2, so its own counter can differ slightly.

How many characters fit in one text message?

160 using the basic GSM alphabet. A single emoji or a letter outside that alphabet, such as Urdu or Chinese, drops the limit to 70, and longer messages split into parts.

How long should a meta description be?

About 150 to 160 characters. Google has no fixed limit and cuts by pixel width, so put the main point first.

Why is the byte size bigger than the character count?

In UTF-8 a basic Latin letter takes 1 byte, an accented letter usually 2, a Chinese character 3 and an emoji 4 or more. Databases and some APIs limit bytes rather than characters.

Why do other tools count emoji as 2?

Many programs count UTF-16 code units, and most emoji use two. This tool counts what people see as one character, so a skin-tone emoji counts as one.

How is this different from a word counter?

A character counter measures length for strict limits such as posts and titles. For essays and articles, use the word counter, which also shows reading time.

Is my text stored or uploaded?

No. The counting happens in your browser, and nothing is saved or sent.

How do I shorten text to fit a limit?

Remove filler words, swap long phrases for short ones and cut repeated spaces with the remove extra spaces tool. To check overall length as well, use the word counter.

Does this count characters in Hebrew, Arabic or Chinese?

Yes. Each visible character counts as one in any language. To change capitals in Latin text at the same time, use the case converter.

Sources

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By Muhammad Shahid. Last updated .