About the Character Counter
Tezmy's Character Counter shows how many characters your text has as you type, with and without spaces. It also counts words, lines, bytes and how many SMS messages the text would need, and it compares your text with the limits of popular places like X (Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube and Google search results. You can add your own limit too, for a form field or an essay box. Everything happens in your browser: your text is never uploaded.
Updated October 2026
How to use the Character Counter
- 1Type or paste your text into the box.
- 2Read the character count, with and without spaces, at the top.
- 3Check the bars under the box to see if your text fits each platform's limit.
- 4Optionally type your own limit to see how many characters you have left.
Common character limits at a glance
These are the limits the counter checks, so you can see at once where your text fits:
- X (Twitter) post: 280 characters.
- SMS text message: 160 characters, or 70 with emoji or special characters.
- Instagram bio: 150 characters. Instagram caption: 2,200 characters.
- TikTok caption: 2,200 characters.
- LinkedIn post: 3,000 characters.
- YouTube video title: 100 characters.
- Google search title: about 60 characters. Meta description: about 160 characters.
Characters, words and bytes: which number to use
Use Characters for almost everything online: social media posts, text messages, form fields, product titles and ad text all count spaces. Use No spaces when a teacher, translator or publisher asks for characters without spaces, which is common for translation pricing and some school assignments.
Words are better for essays and articles. For long writing with reading time and top keywords, the Word Counter is the better fit. Bytes matter mostly to developers, for example when a database column or an API field has a size limit in bytes.
Why a platform may count slightly differently
This counter counts what you see on screen, so an accented letter or an emoji is one character. Most websites do the same, but not all. X gives extra weight to emoji and some Asian scripts and treats every link as 23 characters. SMS switches to a smaller alphabet limit as soon as one special character appears, which is why a single emoji can turn one message into two.
If you're within a few characters of a limit, paste your text into the real app before you publish and check its own counter.
Tips for writing within a limit
- Put the key message first. Captions and search snippets are often cut off after the first line.
- Cut filler words like “really”, “very” and “in order to” before you cut meaning.
- Use numbers instead of words (“5” instead of “five”) where it reads naturally.
- Swap long phrases for shorter ones: “because” instead of “due to the fact that”.
- Avoid double spaces and blank lines at the end. They count as characters too.
On your phone or computer
The counter works the same in any browser on a phone, tablet or computer. On a phone, copy your caption or message from the app you're writing in, paste it into the box, then shorten it here and copy it back with the Copy text button. For the word total as well, use the Word Counter, and fix messy line breaks with Remove Line Breaks before you count. Counting for a page title? Write the tag itself with the Meta Tag Generator, and fix capitals with the Case Converter.
Features
- Live character count with and without spaces
- Words, lines and UTF-8 bytes
- SMS message count (160 or 70 characters per message)
- Limits for X, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube and Google
- Your own custom limit with characters left
- Emoji and accented letters count as one character
- Runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded
Frequently asked questions
Does the character count include spaces?
Yes, the main Characters number includes spaces and line breaks, because that's how most websites, apps and forms count. The No spaces number next to it leaves out every space, tab and line break.
How is an emoji counted?
An emoji counts as one character here, even the ones made from several parts, like a family or a flag, because that's what you see on screen. Some sites count differently: X counts most emoji as two characters, so leave a little room when you are close to the limit.
How many characters can a post on X (Twitter) have?
A standard post on X can have up to 280 characters. Links always count as 23 characters however long they are, and emoji and Chinese, Japanese or Korean characters count as two. Paid accounts can post longer texts.
How many characters fit in one SMS text message?
One SMS holds 160 characters of plain text. If you use an emoji or a character outside the basic SMS alphabet, the limit drops to 70. Longer texts are split into parts of 153 (or 67) characters, and the counter shows how many messages your text needs.
What is the character limit for an Instagram caption and bio?
An Instagram caption can be up to 2,200 characters and a bio up to 150. Only the first line or two of a caption shows before “more”, so put the important part at the start.
How long should a Google title and meta description be?
Google shows about 50 to 60 characters of a page title and roughly 150 to 160 characters of a meta description before cutting them off with “…”. Google actually measures pixel width, so treat these numbers as a guide.
What are bytes, and why is the number different from characters?
Bytes show how much space the text takes when saved as UTF-8, the standard for the web. Plain English letters take one byte each, accented letters two, and most emoji four. Some databases and older systems limit bytes, not characters.
Is my text private?
Yes. The counting happens in your browser on your own device. Your text is not uploaded, saved or shared anywhere.