Character Counter
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How to count characters
Type or paste your text
Click in the box and start typing, or paste text from anywhere. Everything counts as you type, with nothing to press.
Read your counts
Characters and characters without spaces show in large numbers next to your text, with letters, words and lines below them.
Check the app limits
See at a glance if your text fits an X post, an Instagram caption, a LinkedIn post or a YouTube title, and how many text messages it takes. Anything over its limit turns red.
Set your own limit
Type any limit in the Character limit box, like 500 for a form. A bar shows how many characters are left and turns red when you go over.
Character limits for X, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube
An X post allows 280 characters, an Instagram caption 2,200, a LinkedIn post 3,000 and a YouTube title 100, and one text message holds 160. The counter checks your text against all of them at once. Every limit below comes from the app's own help or developer pages, checked in October 2026 and linked in the table.
| Where | Limit | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| X post (tweet) | 280 | Emoji and Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters count as 2, and every link counts as 23. X Premium subscribers can post up to 25,000. Source |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 | Up to 30 hashtags and 20 @ tags. Source |
| LinkedIn post | 3,000 | For more, LinkedIn suggests writing an article. Source |
| YouTube title | 100 | A video description can be up to 5,000. Source |
| Text message (SMS) | 160 | 70 if the message has an emoji or a curly quote mark. Source |
How does X (Twitter) count characters?
X counts most letters, numbers, spaces and punctuation as 1, but every emoji and every Chinese, Japanese or Korean character as 2, and every link as 23, whatever its length. That's why a post can look short and still be over 280. These are X's own counting rules, and the exact character ranges come from X's counting settings. The X row in the counter uses the same rules.
| Text | X counts | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | 5 | Letters, numbers, spaces and punctuation count as 1. |
| Hello π | 8 | An emoji counts as 2, even one made of several parts. |
| ζ₯ζ¬θͺ | 6 | Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters count as 2. |
| Any link | 23 | X shortens every link, so a link always counts as 23. |
| A line break | 1 | Pressing Enter for a new line counts as 1. |
X Premium subscribers can write longer posts, up to 25,000 characters, according to X Help.
How many characters fit in a text message?
One text message holds 160 characters, or 70 if it has an emoji, a curly quote mark or a letter from another alphabet. That's because a plain message uses a small basic alphabet, and any character outside it switches the whole message to a bigger format. Longer messages are sent in parts of 153 characters, or 67 in the bigger format, so the counter shows how many messages your text takes and how many characters are left.
| Your text has | One message | Each part |
|---|---|---|
| Only plain letters and numbers | 160 | 153 |
| An emoji or a curly quote | 70 | 67 |
A few symbols, like square and curly brackets, take two places in a plain message, and an emoji takes two places in the bigger format. Source for the limits: Twilio's guide to text message limits.
What counts as a character?
A character is any single letter, number, space, punctuation mark or symbol. Most emoji count as one character too, while flags and emoji made of several parts count as more, the same as in Microsoft Word. The big Characters number leaves out line breaks, like Word. X counts a line break as 1, so the app rows include them.
| Text | Characters | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| A letter, number or symbol | 1 | Each one counts once, with or without an accent, like Γ©. |
| A space | 1 | Spaces count, and Without spaces leaves them out. |
| π | 1 | Most emoji count as one character. |
| πΊπΈ | 2 | A flag is made of two parts, so it counts as two. |
| A line break | 0 | Not in the Characters number, but 1 in the app rows. |
Need the number of words instead? Use the Word Counter.
Helpful Guides
Frequently asked questions
Still stuck? Contact usCan I count only the letters
Yes. The Letters row counts only letters, leaving out spaces, numbers, punctuation and emoji, so it works as a letter counter too.
Does the character count include spaces
The big Characters number includes spaces. The number next to it, Without spaces, leaves them out, so you get both at once.
How many characters can a tweet on X (Twitter) have
280 characters for a post, which used to be called a tweet. X counts an emoji or a Chinese, Japanese or Korean character as 2, and every link as 23, and the X row in the counter follows those rules. X Premium subscribers can post up to 25,000 characters.
Do emojis count as characters
Yes, but each place counts them differently. In the Characters number most emoji count as 1, and flags and emoji made of several parts count as more. X counts every emoji as 2. In a text message an emoji takes 2 places and cuts the message from 160 characters to 70.
Why does X say my post is too long
Because X doesn't count every character as 1. Each emoji counts as 2 and every link counts as 23 however short it is, so a post can look shorter than X counts it.
What is the Instagram character limit
2,200 characters for a caption, with up to 30 hashtags and 20 @ tags, according to Meta's developer documentation.
What is the LinkedIn post character limit
3,000 characters, according to LinkedIn Help. For anything longer, LinkedIn suggests writing an article instead.
How long can a YouTube title be
100 characters, according to YouTube Help.
What is the YouTube description character limit
5,000 characters for a video description, according to YouTube Help.
Why did my text message split into two
Longer messages are sent in parts of 153 characters, or 67 with an emoji. One emoji or curly quote mark switches the whole message to the smaller size, so it splits sooner.
Do line breaks count as characters
Not in the big Characters number, which counts the same way as Microsoft Word. X counts a line break as 1, so the app limit rows include them.
How do I count the characters in part of my text
Highlight the part you want. Under the big numbers you'll see how many characters and words are selected.
Is my text saved or uploaded
Your text never leaves your device. It's kept only in this browser, so it's still there if you close the tab by accident. Press Clear to remove it.
Is it free, with no sign up
Yes. The character counter is free, with no account, no limit on how much text you count and nothing to install.