Create & Write
Character Counter
Count characters with and without spaces, plus words, lines and bytes. Check your text against limits for X, meta tags, SMS and more. Free and private.
Your text stays on your device. The counting runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type or paste is uploaded, saved or logged.
How to use the character counter
- Type or paste your text. The counts update as you type.
- Pick a limit, such as an X post or a meta description, to see how many characters are left or how far over you are.
- Use the “no spaces” figure for forms that exclude spaces, and the byte count for fields limited by size.
How the numbers are counted
Characters: each visible symbol counts once, including letters with accents and emoji. A flag or a family emoji is one character, even though it is stored as several code points.
Bytes: the size of the text when saved as UTF-8. Plain English letters take 1 byte each, accented letters usually 2, Thai and most Asian scripts 3, and emoji 4.
Limits are guidelines. Platforms change their rules, and some count differently from this tool. X treats links as a fixed length and counts some scripts as double. Google cuts titles and descriptions by pixel width, not by characters, so 60 and 155 are safe rules of thumb rather than hard limits. SMS fits 160 characters in one message only for plain text. Messages with emoji or many non-Latin letters use shorter parts. Check the platform when it matters.
Frequently asked questions
Is my text sent to a server?
No. All counting happens in your browser. Your text is not uploaded, stored or logged, and it disappears when you close or refresh the page.
Do spaces and line breaks count as characters?
Yes, in the main “Characters” figure. The “no spaces” figure leaves out spaces, tabs and line breaks.
Why is the byte count higher than the character count?
Characters outside basic English letters take more than one byte in UTF-8. For example, “café” is 4 characters but 5 bytes.
What is the difference between a character counter and a word counter?
A character counter measures length for strict limits, such as social posts and meta tags. A word counter measures length for essays and articles. Both are available on Ngepush.