Free Online Character Counter
Count characters with and without spaces, words and paragraphs instantly. With real-time social media limits and complete privacy.
Social media limits
Character progress against each platform limitWhat is a character counter?
A character counter is a digital tool that analyses any text and tells you exactly how many characters it contains. Unlike a word counter, a character counter examines every letter, number, punctuation mark and space individually.
Our online character counter works instantly: as you type or paste your text, the statistics update without pressing any button. It is the ideal solution when you need to respect an exact character limit.
This character counter measures two key values: total characters (including spaces) and characters without spaces. Both metrics are essential depending on the context in which you write.
How to use our character counter
Using this character counter is as simple as typing. You don't need to download anything, sign up or share personal data.
Paste or type your text
Copy text from any source (Word, Google Docs, email, social media) and paste it into the text box above.
Read the live statistics
The character counter updates in real time: characters, words, sentences and paragraphs.
Copy, download or clear
When you're done, copy the text to clipboard, download it as a .txt file or empty the editor to start over.
Features of our character counter
Our character counter stands out by combining speed, privacy and accuracy in a single free tool.
Instant results
No delays or reloads. This character counter processes your text on the fly and updates the numbers as you type.
100% private
All analysis happens in your browser. This character counter never sends your text to any external server.
Completely free
No registration, no intrusive ads and no usage limits. You can count characters as many times as you need.
All languages supported
Works with English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Arabic, emojis and any other Unicode writing system.
Mobile friendly
The interface adapts automatically to phones and tablets. Count characters from any device, anywhere.
Advanced metrics
Beyond basic counting, get words, sentences, paragraphs and estimated reading time in a single view.
Character limits on social media 2026
One of the most common uses of a character counter is to check whether a text respects the limit of each social media platform. Every platform follows different rules worth reviewing.
X (Twitter)
280 characters per standard tweet. X Premium subscribers can publish tweets of up to 4,000 characters.
2,200 characters in captions and 150 characters in the profile bio.
63,206 characters per post and 8,000 characters per comment. One of the most permissive platforms.
3,000 characters per post, 220 in the profile headline and up to 110,000 in long articles.
TikTok
2,200 characters in video descriptions and 80 characters in the profile bio.
700 characters in statuses and up to 65,536 characters in a direct message.
Character counting across languages
Not all characters are created equal. Understanding how our character counter handles special scripts will help you avoid surprises in SMS, databases and social media posts.
Accented letters (á, é, ñ, ü)
Accented letters are full Unicode characters. The character counter counts each one as a single character, exactly like their non-accented equivalents. No letter ever counts double.
CJK scripts (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
Each Chinese, Japanese or Korean glyph counts as 1 character in our character counter. However, note that platforms like Twitter historically counted CJK characters as 2 weight units — always check the platform's own rules.
Right-to-left scripts (Arabic, Hebrew)
Arabic and Hebrew letters are counted individually, even when they visually connect to adjacent letters. The direction of writing does not affect the count.
SMS: GSM vs Unicode encoding
Here is the important detail: if your SMS contains accented letters, emojis or non-Latin characters, your phone automatically switches to Unicode mode. A Unicode SMS allows only 70 characters instead of the 160 in GSM mode. Always use the character counter before sending long messages.
Character counter use cases
The character counter is useful in many more contexts than it may seem at first glance.
Social media and digital marketing
Optimise tweets, Instagram captions and Facebook ads without going over the limit. The character counter lets you adjust every message to the exact platform format.
SEO: titles and meta descriptions
Google shows approximately 60 characters of the title tag and 155 characters of the meta description. A character counter helps ensure Google doesn't truncate your message.
Academic papers and essays
Many abstracts, dissertation summaries and writing contests specify a strict maximum character count. Our character counter helps you match the target exactly.
Programming and databases
VARCHAR fields, HTML tags and error messages have bounded lengths. Verify your text with the character counter before inserting it into your database.