Free Character Counter — Count Characters, Words & More
Type or paste your text below and every count updates live as you type — characters with and without spaces, words, sentences, lines, paragraphs, and reading time. Everything you enter stays in your browser; nothing is uploaded anywhere.
How it works
Common character limits cheat sheet
Use the counter above to stay inside these limits before you hit publish:
- X (Twitter) post — 280 characters
- SMS text message — 160 characters per segment (longer texts split and cost extra)
- Google meta description — about 155 characters before it gets cut off in search results
- Instagram bio — 150 characters
- LinkedIn headline — 220 characters
- YouTube video title — 100 characters
- Reddit post title — 300 characters
- TikTok caption — 2,200 characters
Everyday uses
- Write posts that fit: check an X post or SMS is inside the limit before sending — no surprise splits or cut-off text.
- Hit assignment minimums: students can verify an essay meets the required character or word count in seconds.
- Write better meta descriptions: keep them near 155 characters so Google shows the whole thing in search results.
- Tighten your bio: trim an Instagram bio or LinkedIn headline until it fits the platform’s limit without losing meaning.
- Estimate reading time: see at a glance whether your draft is a 1-minute skim or a 10-minute read.
- Clean up pasted text: spot double line breaks and empty paragraphs by watching the paragraph and line counts.