Free character counter
Type or paste your text to see how many characters it has, with and without spaces, and how close it is to the limit of X, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, SMS and Google results.
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How it fits where you will post it
Free, no sign-up. It runs in your browser: your files and text never leave your device.
What counts as a character?
A character is any letter, digit, space, punctuation mark or emoji. This counter counts what a reader sees as one character, so an emoji or a letter with an accent counts once. Platforms sometimes count differently: X, for example, counts every link as 23 characters and some emoji as two.
Limits decide how you write. A tweet-style post has 280, an Instagram caption 2,200, a bio 150, a YouTube title 100, a Google title about 60 and a Google description about 160. One SMS holds 160 plain characters, but Arabic or emoji bring it down to about 70.
How to count characters
- Type or paste your text into the box.
- Read the number of characters, with and without spaces.
- Check the bars for the platform you are writing for. They turn red when you go over.
- Edit until the bar is green, then copy your text.
Questions people ask
Do spaces count as characters?
Yes, on nearly every platform. The counter shows both numbers: with spaces, which is what limits use, and without spaces.
How many characters is one SMS?
160 for plain Latin text. If the message has Arabic letters or emoji it uses a different encoding and one message holds about 70 characters.
How is an emoji counted?
Here, as one character. Some platforms, such as X, count certain emoji as two, so leave a little room.
What is the limit for an Instagram bio?
An Instagram bio can have up to 150 characters, counting spaces and emoji.
Is my text sent to a server?
No. It is counted in your browser and goes nowhere.