Character counter
Count the characters in your text instantly, with and without spaces, and check whether it fits a limit: a post on X, a text message, or any maximum you choose.
- Free
- No sign-up
- In your browser
Character limit
Characters (with spaces)
0
- Without spaces
- 0
- Words
- 0
- Lines
- 0
- UTF-16 code units
- 0
- How JavaScript and maxlength count
- Bytes (UTF-8)
- 0
- Size of the saved text
How to use this tool
- Type or paste your text into the box.
- Check the character count and, below it, the extra figures: without spaces, words, lines, UTF-16 code units and UTF-8 bytes.
- If you need to stay under a maximum, choose “X post”, “SMS” or “Custom” and enter your limit.
- The progress bar and the remaining-characters counter update as you type; if you go over, they turn red.
What counts as a character
This tool counts characters the way a person sees them (what Unicode calls a “grapheme”). An accented letter, an emoji with a skin tone like 👍🏽 or a flag like 🇺🇸 counts as one character, even though it's stored internally as several code points.
Spaces, tabs and line breaks are characters too. That's why two figures are shown: with spaces and without spaces. A line break always counts as one, even if the text comes from Windows, where it's stored as two codes (CR + LF).
Why other apps may show a different number
Many programs and web forms don't count graphemes but UTF-16 code units, which is how JavaScript measures the length of a string and how the HTML maxlength attribute works. For ordinary letters, including é, ñ or ü, both figures match, but many emoji take two or more units: 👍 is 2 and 👍🏽 is 4.
Databases and some systems limit size in bytes. In UTF-8, unaccented letters take 1 byte, accented letters take 2, the € sign takes 3 and most emoji take 4. That's why the UTF-8 size is shown as well.
X and SMS limits
On X (formerly Twitter), a post from a standard account allows 280 characters. X counts links as 23 characters regardless of their length, and some characters, such as emoji or Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters, as 2. This tool's count doesn't apply those special rules, so treat it as a guide if your text includes links or emoji.
An SMS holds 160 characters if the whole text uses the GSM-7 alphabet, the standard SMS character set. Plain English text almost always fits, but a single character outside that alphabet, such as an emoji or a curly quote (’ “ ”) pasted from a word processor, switches the message to Unicode (UCS-2) and the limit drops to 70. Some symbols, like € or square brackets, take two positions in GSM-7.
When an SMS goes over the limit, it's split into several linked messages of 153 characters (GSM-7) or 67 (Unicode) each, because part of the space is used to join them. The tool shows the encoding, the length and how many messages would be needed. Some phones automatically replace certain characters before sending, so the real result can vary by phone and carrier.
Examples
A post for X
Choose “X post” and type. If the bar turns red, you'll see exactly how many characters you need to cut.
A text message with a curly apostrophe
“Running late, see you at 8” fits in GSM-7 (160 characters). Write “I’m running late” with a curly apostrophe instead of a straight one (') and the limit drops to 70.
A form field with a maximum
If a form allows 500 characters, choose “Custom” and enter 500. If your text includes emoji, also compare against the UTF-16 code unit count.
Frequently asked questions
Do spaces count as characters?
Yes. Spaces, tabs and line breaks are characters. If you need the figure without them, it's under “Without spaces”.
How many characters is an emoji?
For a person, one, and that's how this tool counts it. In UTF-16 code units it's usually 2, and compound emoji (with skin tones, families, flags) take more. In an SMS, any emoji drops the limit from 160 to 70.
Why does my text message have a 70-character limit?
Because it contains at least one character outside the GSM-7 SMS alphabet, such as an emoji, a curly quote or certain accented letters. The message is then encoded as Unicode, which allows 70 characters per message. The tool lists the characters that caused it.
Is the count exact for X?
It's exact for plain text. X counts links as 23 characters and emoji as 2, rules this tool doesn't apply; if your post includes links or emoji, leave some margin.
Is my text sent to a server?
No. The count happens in your browser and the text isn't sent to any server or stored.
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