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Character Counter

See a live character count — with and without spaces — as you type, plus line and word counts for context.

Runs in your browser — files never leave your device

Free · No sign-upOutputs Statistics
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How to use Character Counter

  1. Paste or type text in the box.

  2. Watch the character counts update live.

  3. Use "without spaces" for limits that exclude whitespace.

  4. Edit until you're inside your limit.

About this tool

Character limits are stricter than word limits: page titles (~60 characters), meta descriptions (~155), SMS segments (160), and many form fields. This counter shows characters with spaces, characters without spaces, plus words and lines so you can trim to fit a limit precisely. Unicode characters, including emoji and accented letters, are counted as people expect — one visible character each.

This matters most for anything with a hard platform-enforced cutoff, where a submission that's even one character too long gets truncated or rejected outright — a page title that gets cut off mid-word in search results, or a social post that fails to publish.

Common ways people use this

  • Writing a page title or meta description that fits within a search engine's display limit
  • Fitting a social media post or bio within a platform's exact character cap
  • Checking a form field response won't be truncated by a hidden character limit

Tips for better results

  • For SEO titles and meta descriptions, aim comfortably under the limit rather than exactly at it — search engines sometimes render slightly differently across devices.
  • If you're counting for SMS, remember that some special characters can switch a message into a mode with a lower per-segment limit — check your carrier's specifics for anything unusual.

Frequently asked questions

How are emoji and accented characters counted?
As single characters, the way people read them. (Internally some emoji occupy multiple code units, but the visible-character count is what limits usually mean.)
Do line breaks count as characters?
Yes, each line break counts as one character in the "with spaces" figure, matching how most platforms enforce limits.
What are common character limits I should know?
Roughly: page titles 60, meta descriptions 155, X/Twitter posts 280, SMS segments 160, LinkedIn headlines 220. Always verify against the platform's current rules.
Why does my character count differ from what a platform shows?
Some platforms count certain emoji or special characters as more than one character internally, even though they display as one symbol. If your count is close to a limit, leave a small buffer to be safe.
Should I count with spaces or without spaces for a form field?
Most platforms, including SMS and social media character limits, count spaces as regular characters — so the "with spaces" figure is usually the one that matters.

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