Character Counter
Free character counter.
Count characters, words, and lines in real time as you type or paste, with live progress bars for the limits that matter most — a 280-character post, a 160-character text message, a 155-character meta description, and a 60-character page title. Instead of writing blind and hoping you're under the cap, you see exactly where you stand against each one.
Why character limits exist
Many platforms cap text for structural reasons, and going over doesn't just look bad — it gets your content cut off. A social post past its limit won't send; a meta description longer than roughly 155–160 characters is truncated with an ellipsis in search results, wasting your best summary; a page title over about 60 characters is clipped in the results listing; and an SMS beyond 160 characters silently splits into multiple billed messages. Writing to these limits deliberately, rather than discovering them after publishing, keeps your message intact where it counts.
Characters, words, and why counts differ
This counter reports characters both with and without spaces, because platforms disagree on which they count — most social limits include spaces, while some writing briefs specify characters excluding them. It also shows words and lines. If your count ever seems off compared with another tool, spaces and line breaks are almost always the reason. Seeing every figure at once lets you match whichever definition a given form or platform uses, so you're never caught out by a limit that counts differently than you assumed.
Writing to a limit without losing your message
When a platform truncates your text, it usually cuts the end — which is often where your call to action or key point sits. Writing to the limit deliberately means front-loading what matters and trimming from the middle rather than letting the platform decide. For meta descriptions and title tags, this is the difference between a search snippet that reads as a complete thought and one that trails off mid-sentence. The live bars here turn each limit into something you can steer toward as you write, so you tighten the wording yourself instead of discovering the cut-off after publishing.
Limits that actually bite
Character limits are everywhere once you start posting and optimising. A page title for search results is usually cut around 60 characters; a meta description around 155. Social platforms each draw their own line, and SMS messages split into segments once you pass 160. Knowing the count before you publish saves you from a headline that trails off into an ellipsis or a message that arrives as three awkward texts. The counter tracks characters, words, and lines together so you can trim to fit a hard limit while keeping an eye on whether the writing still reads well.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from a word counter?
It focuses on characters and platform limits rather than reading time, with live progress bars for common caps like social posts, SMS, meta descriptions and titles.
Does the count include spaces?
It shows both totals — characters with spaces and without — so you can use whichever a given platform counts.
Is emoji counted as one character?
Most emoji count as one or more units depending on how they're encoded. The counter reflects the browser's character count, which is what most platforms measure.
Why does my post count differently on the actual platform?
Some platforms count links or emoji as a fixed number of characters regardless of length, and a few exclude certain characters. Use this counter as a close guide and confirm against the platform for edge cases.
Last updated: 2026-01-20