How to use the Character Counter tool
3 simple steps · under a minute
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Type or paste your text
Enter the tweet, caption, SMS or meta description you want to check.
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Read the character count
See characters with spaces, without spaces, and the word count at a glance.
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Check the limits
Bars show how much room is left for X, Instagram, SMS and Google search snippets.
About Character counter
Character limits are everywhere: 280 characters for a post on X, 160 for an SMS, around 60 for a Google title and 155–160 for a meta description. This character counter tells you exactly how many characters your text has, with and without spaces, as you type.
Colour-coded bars show how close you are to each common limit, so you can trim your text before you publish.
With and without spaces
Both counts are shown, because different sites count characters differently.
Social media limits
Live bars for X (Twitter), Instagram captions, SMS messages and Google snippets.
Accurate for emoji
Emoji and accented letters are counted as single characters, as people see them.
Frequently asked questions
Do spaces count as characters?
Yes, on most platforms spaces count. That is why we show both numbers: with spaces and without spaces.
What is the character limit on X (Twitter)?
280 characters for a standard post. Links always count as 23 characters on X, whatever their real length.
How long should a meta description be?
Aim for 120–160 characters. Google usually cuts snippets off at around 155–160 characters on desktop.
How are emoji counted?
Each emoji you see counts as one character here. Some platforms, such as SMS, count certain emoji as two.