How to use it
- Paste or type your text in the box, or open a .txt file from your device.
- Read the character count with and without spaces in the first tiles.
- Pick a platform and field under Platform limits to see how many characters remain.
- Check SMS segments if the text will go out as a text message.
- Use Copy summary to copy every count as a plain text block.
Why character counters disagree
There are several ways to count the characters in the same text, and tools pick different ones.
The main figure here counts user-perceived characters, which Unicode calls grapheme clusters. A letter with an accent, an emoji with a skin tone, a family emoji or a flag each count as 1.
The UTF-16 length, also called the JavaScript length, counts the code units a browser stores. Most emoji take 2 units and combined emoji take more, so tools that count this way give higher numbers for emoji text.
UTF-8 bytes measure storage size. English letters take 1 byte, most accented letters 2, most Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters 3, and most emoji 4.
| Text | Characters | Code points | UTF-16 length | UTF-8 bytes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cafe | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| café (é as one character) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| café (e plus a combining accent) | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| 👋🏽 (waving hand, skin tone) | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 👨👩👧 (family) | 1 | 5 | 8 | 18 |
| 🇬🇧 (flag) | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 你好 (Chinese) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
Social platforms set their own rules. The Twitter character counter weights links and some characters, and the Instagram character counter counts code points, so each platform meter uses that platform's rule rather than the main figure.
Character limits by platform
Each platform counter has its own page with a preset for every field. The limits below come from the same data the meters use.
| Counter | Limits |
|---|---|
| Twitter Character Counter | Post 280, Premium post 25,000, Bio 160, Display name 50, Username 15, Direct message 10,000, Image alt text 1,000 |
| Instagram Character Counter | Caption 2,200, Bio 150, Comment 2,200, Display name 30, Username 30 |
| Facebook Character Counter | Post 63,206, Comment 8,000, Ad Headline 40, Ad Text 125, Page Description 255 |
| LinkedIn Character Counter | Post 3,000, Article Title 150, Headline 220, Summary 2,600 |
| Pinterest Character Counter | Pin Description 800, Pin Title 100, Board Description 500, Board Name 50 |
| Threads Character Counter | Post 500 |
| Google Character Counter | Page Title 60, Meta Description 160, H1 Tag 70 |
| Bluesky Character Counter | Post 300 |
| Mastodon Character Counter | Post 500 |
| YouTube Title Generator | Title 100 |
SMS character limits
A text message is sent in GSM-7 encoding when every character is in the GSM 03.38 character set. One message then holds 160 characters, and a longer message is split into segments of 153, because each part also carries the information needed to join it back together.
Characters from the GSM extension table, such as €, [, ] and {, count as 2. A single character outside the set, such as an emoji or a curly quote, switches the whole message to UCS-2, which holds 70 characters, or 67 per segment when split.
| Encoding | One message | Each segment when split |
|---|---|---|
| GSM-7 | 160 characters | 153 characters |
| UCS-2 | 70 characters | 67 characters |
Carriers and phones can handle messages differently, and some routes use lower limits, so treat the segment count as an estimate.
Notes
- A Windows line break (a carriage return plus a line feed) counts as 1 character, the same as a line break typed on any other system. To count lines and blank lines instead, use the line counter.
- The count without spaces removes spaces, tabs, line breaks, non-breaking spaces and every other Unicode space.
- Characters are split by your browser's Unicode rules, so a very new emoji can count as more than 1 in an older browser.
- Glitch text full of combining marks counts every mark on its own, so a short word can take far more characters than it looks. The figure under that result includes each mark.
More text counters
Frequently asked questions
Does the character count include spaces?
The main count includes spaces, tabs and line breaks. The tile next to it shows the count with all whitespace removed.
Why does an emoji count as 2 on some sites?
Many sites count UTF-16 code units, and most emoji use 2 of them. This counter shows that figure as the UTF-16 length, while its main count treats each visible emoji as 1 character.
How many characters fit in one text message?
160 characters in GSM-7 encoding, or 70 if the message has any character outside the GSM-7 set, such as an emoji. Longer messages are split into segments of 153 or 67.
How do I check the limit for a specific platform?
Pick the platform and field under Platform limits. The meter shows how many characters are used and remaining, counted with that platform's rule.
Is my text saved?
No. Counting happens in your browser, and this tool does not store your text or send it anywhere.