Character Counter Online
Count characters with and without spaces — plus words, sentences, and live platform-limit checks for X, SMS, and SEO meta tags.
Live counts update as you type.
Characters
0
including spaces & punctuation
Without spaces
0
Words
0
Sentences
0
Paragraphs
0
Reading time
0s
Free character counter (with & without spaces)
A character counter tells you exactly how long your text is — the number social platforms, forms, and search engines actually enforce. Paste your text and get live counts for characters (with and without spaces), words, sentences, and paragraphs, plus an estimated reading time. Everything runs locally in your browser, so drafts, captions, and messages stay private.
The most useful feature is the platform-limit checker: pick X/Twitter (280), SMS (160), meta title (~60), or meta description (~160) and watch a live progress bar as you type. It turns green, amber, then red as you approach and pass the limit, and tells you exactly how many characters to trim. No more posting a tweet and discovering it got cut off.
Common character limits
- X / Twitter post: 280 characters
- SMS segment: 160 characters (longer messages split and cost more)
- Meta title: ~60 characters before Google truncates it
- Meta description: ~160 characters before the snippet cuts off
- Instagram caption: 2,200 characters
Writing SEO titles and descriptions? Generate them with ToolsOfWeb’s Meta Tag Generator and check their length here before publishing. For a words-first view with the same text, see the Word Counter.
FAQs
How are characters counted?+
Every character counts as one — letters, numbers, spaces, and punctuation. “No spaces” strips all whitespace first, which is what strict form limits usually want.
Why do some emoji count as 2 characters?+
The counter uses JavaScript string length (UTF-16 code units), so emoji and some non-Latin characters count as 2. This actually matches how X/Twitter weights most emoji (2 characters each), but other platforms may differ by one or two.
Is my text uploaded anywhere?+
No. Counting happens locally in your browser — your text never leaves your device.
What is the difference between this and the word counter?+
Word counters measure words; this tool leads with character counts and platform limits (tweets, SMS, meta tags). If you need both views, the word counter page shows words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs together.
Which limit should I check against?+
Pick the platform you are writing for: X/Twitter posts (280), SMS segments (160), meta titles (~60), or meta descriptions (~160). The progress bar shows exactly how many characters you have left — or how many to trim.
More free tools
Want guides and tips? Visit the ToolsOfWeb blog or go back to the homepage.