How to Use Character Counter: Complete Guide (2026)

What is Character Counter?

Character counters track every letter, space, and symbol in your text. Platforms like Google, X (Twitter), and SMS impose strict limits - this tool shows counts with and without spaces so you never truncate important words.

Free online character counter with live counts for characters with and without spaces, plus words and lines. Perfect for Twitter/X, Instagram, SMS, and SEO meta description limits.

Why use Character Counter?

• Stay within meta description and title tag limits
• Fit social posts without surprise cut-offs
• Measure ad copy and SMS campaigns
• Audit snippet length for rich results

How to use Character Counter - step by step

1. Step 1: Type or paste your text into the input box.
2. Step 2: Watch the character count update live as you edit.
3. Step 3: Read both counts: characters with spaces and characters without spaces.
4. Step 4: Compare against your target limit (for example 280 for X or 160 for a meta description).
5. Step 5: Trim or expand your text until it fits, then copy it out.

The Character Counter lives under Text Tools. Open the tool page, enter your input in the main field, and results update instantly. Use the copy button to paste output into documents, code editors, or spreadsheets.

Common use cases

SEO meta tags

Keep meta descriptions near 150-160 characters for best display in search results.

Social media

Verify post length on X, LinkedIn, and Instagram bios.

Examples

• Meta description: Google typically displays about 150-160 characters in snippets.
• Tweet / X post: X (Twitter) allows up to 280 characters per standard post.
• SMS message: A single SMS fits 160 characters; longer messages are split into multiple segments.
• Instagram caption: Instagram captions allow up to 2,200 characters, but the feed shows only the first ~125 before 'more'.

Pro tips

• Count without spaces when platforms exclude whitespace from limits.
• Leave 5-10 characters buffer for dynamic title insertion in SERPs.

Frequently asked questions

How do I count characters online?

Paste or type your text into the box above and the character count appears instantly - no button to press. You get the total with spaces, the total without spaces, and word and line counts, all updating live as you edit.

Do emojis count as one character?

In this tool, each Unicode code unit is counted. Some emojis use two code units (surrogate pairs), so they may count as 2 characters here but display as 1. Platform limits (Twitter, Instagram) often measure differently - always test on the target platform.

What is the difference between characters with and without spaces?

"Characters" counts every character including spaces, tabs, and line breaks. "No spaces" counts only visible characters. The "no spaces" count is useful for platforms that ignore whitespace in their limits.

What is the Twitter/X character limit?

X (formerly Twitter) allows 280 characters per post for standard accounts. URLs are counted as 23 characters regardless of length. Verified accounts with Premium may have higher limits.

What is the SMS character limit?

A standard SMS holds 160 characters using GSM-7 encoding. If you include emoji or special characters, the message switches to Unicode and the limit drops to 70 characters per segment. Longer messages are split into multiple segments and joined on the recipient's phone.

What is the ideal meta description length?

Google typically displays 150-160 characters in search snippets. Aim for 150-155 characters to avoid truncation. The character counter is useful for writing meta descriptions that fit perfectly.

Is a character count the same as a letter count?

Not quite. A character count includes letters, digits, punctuation, symbols, and (optionally) spaces. A letter count would include only alphabetic characters. Use the 'without spaces' total when a platform ignores whitespace, and the full total when every keystroke counts.

Does the counter work offline?

Once the page has loaded, yes - the counting logic runs in your browser with no internet connection required.

Related tools you might need

Explore other text tools on ToolsMinify. Related utilities are linked on the Character Counter page to help you complete your workflow without leaving the site.