Count characters in real time — with and without spaces. Instantly check platform limits for Twitter/X, Instagram, SMS, meta descriptions, YouTube titles, LinkedIn, and more. Get alerts when you exceed limits. Free, fast, no sign-up needed.
Counts characters with and without spaces separately
Real-time word, sentence and paragraph statistics
Shows Twitter (280), Instagram (2200) and meta (160) limits
All counts update as you type with zero delay
Copy your entire text with one click when done editing
One-click remove extra spaces for cleaner character counts
Paste or type the content you want to count characters for.
See character, word and space counts update instantly as you type.
Select your platform (Twitter, Instagram, Meta) to see the limit bar.
Click Copy to copy your final text to clipboard.
Every platform on the internet has character limits — and exceeding them can cut off your message, hurt your SEO, or prevent your content from being published. A character counter is one of the most practical tools in any writer's toolkit, from SEO professionals crafting meta descriptions to social media managers writing tweets.
Our Character Counter goes beyond basic counting. It shows you live progress bars for 8 major platforms simultaneously, turning red when you exceed the limit so you can instantly see which platforms your text is too long for. Whether you're drafting an SMS, a Twitter thread, an Instagram caption, or a Google search snippet, this tool helps you stay within bounds on every platform at once.
The tool also counts bytes (UTF-8 encoding), which matters for database storage limits, API payloads, and applications that handle text in binary form. All processing is done locally in your browser — your text is never uploaded anywhere.
| Platform | Limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Twitter / X Post | 280 chars | URLs count as 23 chars regardless of length |
| Twitter / X Bio | 160 chars | Username up to 50 chars |
| Instagram Caption | 2,200 chars | First 125 chars visible without tap |
| Instagram Bio | 150 chars | Name field: 30 chars |
| Facebook Post | 63,206 chars | First 477 chars shown before "See more" |
| LinkedIn Post | 3,000 chars | 210 chars shown before "See more" |
| YouTube Title | 100 chars | 60 chars recommended for search display |
| YouTube Description | 5,000 chars | First 157 chars shown in search |
| Meta Description | 160 chars | 155–160 ideal for search snippets |
| SEO Title Tag | 60 chars | 50–60 chars to avoid truncation |
| SMS Message | 160 chars | Multi-part SMS at 153 chars each |
| TikTok Caption | 2,200 chars | Hashtags reduce viewable caption space |
| Pinterest Description | 500 chars | First 60–70 chars most important |
| Email Subject Line | 998 chars | Keep under 60 for best open rates |
Twitter/X allows 280 characters per tweet for standard accounts. URLs count as exactly 23 characters regardless of their actual length. Images, GIFs, and polls do not count toward the character limit. Keep your tweet's core message within the first 220 characters to leave room for a URL.
Instagram allows up to 2,200 characters in captions. However, only the first 125 characters are shown in feeds without tapping "More." Studies show that captions between 138–150 characters get the highest engagement. Put your key message and call-to-action in the first 125 characters, then add hashtags at the end or in the first comment.
The recommended meta description length is 150–160 characters. Google shows approximately 155–160 characters in desktop search results before truncating with "..." Keep your most important keywords and call-to-action within the first 120 characters, as mobile results are often shorter. Use our Meta Tag Generator to build optimized meta tags.
Standard SMS is limited to 160 characters using the GSM-7 character set (basic Latin letters). If you use special characters or emojis (Unicode), the limit drops to 70 characters per segment. Messages over 160 characters are split into multiple segments of 153 characters each — so a 200-character SMS actually sends as two messages and costs more.
Characters with spaces count every character including spaces, tabs, and line breaks — this is what most platform limits use. Characters without spaces count only non-whitespace characters (letters, numbers, punctuation). Academic word processors often report both. Most social platforms count spaces toward their limits.
Type or paste any text into the input area. The counter updates instantly, showing total characters, characters without spaces, words, sentences, and paragraphs. Use the platform limit indicators to see if your text fits Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, SMS, or Google ads.
Every digital platform has character limits that directly affect performance. Twitter/X posts cut off at 280 characters. Google search titles display at 50–60 characters; longer titles get truncated. Meta descriptions need to stay under 160 characters to avoid being cut in SERPs. LinkedIn posts allow 3,000 characters, but engagement drops after the first 700 visible characters.
Twitter/X: 280 characters. Google title tag: 50–60 characters. Meta description: 150–160 characters. Instagram caption: 2,200 characters (preview: 125). LinkedIn post: 3,000 characters. SMS: 160 characters. Google Ads headline: 30 characters. Google Ads description: 90 characters.