Character counter with every platform’s limit built in

How to use this online character counter

This character counter doesn’t stop at a number. It puts your count next to each platform’s real limit, with a bar that turns coral the moment you go over. Looking for a character and word counter? Both numbers sit right at the top, along with lines, hashtags and emojis.

1. Paste or type your text

   Done

   The numbers update as you type. There’s no calculate button.

2. Filter by where you’ll post

   Done

   Tap “Google & SEO,” “Social media,” “Ads” or “Messages” to see only the limits you care about.

3. Trim until nothing is coral

   Done

   Every row tells you how far over you are. For X and SMS, the count follows each platform’s own rules.

4. Copy and publish

   Done

   “Copy text” puts it on your clipboard. Nothing leaves your browser: no sign-up, no servers.

Character limits for Instagram, TikTok, X and ads

We checked every limit against the official help pages in October 2026. Recommended limits won’t block you from posting, but past them your text gets cut off.

Where	Limit	Type
Instagram bio	150	Hard limit
Instagram caption	2,200 and 5 hashtags	Hard limit
TikTok video caption	4,000 in the app (2,200 via the API)	Hard limit
TikTok bio	80	Hard limit
X post without Premium	280	Hard limit
LinkedIn post	3,000	Hard limit
YouTube title	100	Hard limit
Google Ads headline and description	30 and 90	Hard limit
Meta Ads headline in Facebook Feed	27	Recommended

So the Instagram caption character limit is 2,200, and the Instagram bio character limit is 150. The hashtag rule is the new one: since December 2025 Instagram allows only 5 hashtags per post, and the counter warns you when you add a sixth.

Character counter with spaces (and without): how it counts

A space is a character, so the big number includes them. Right next to it you get the count without spaces, the one many translators and teachers ask for. In other words, it works as a character counter with spaces and without.

We count what you see: a combined emoji, like a family or a flag, counts as 1 even if it’s built from several code points. There are two exceptions, and that’s where this tool gets it right while others don’t:

• X counts emojis and Chinese, Japanese or Korean characters as 2, and every link as 23, even if it’s 80 long. That’s the real Twitter character limit math, straight from the official guide to counting characters. The X character limit row applies it for you.
• SMS fits 160 characters if everything is in the GSM alphabet. A single emoji switches it to Unicode: the SMS character limit drops to 70, and longer texts split into 67-character segments.

The math in each row is simple: how far over you are = characters in your text − the platform’s limit. For long pieces like articles, essays or scripts, use the word counter, which adds sentences, reading time and readability.

Character count in Word and Google Docs

In Word, open the Review tab and click Word Count, or click the word count in the status bar. The box shows words, characters (no spaces), characters (with spaces), paragraphs and lines. Select a passage first and it counts only that passage.

Tick “Include textboxes, footnotes and endnotes” if your text has them. If Word and another counter disagree, check that box first.

In Google Docs, go to Tools, then Word count, and turn on the option to show the count while you type.

Use this counter instead of Word when the text is headed for a social post, a text message or an ad. Word counts characters, but it doesn’t know that X counts a link as 23 or an emoji as 2.

How to count characters in Excel with LEN

The LEN function counts the characters in a cell, spaces included, according to Microsoft’s help page. With your text in A2:

• With spaces: =LEN(A2).
• Without spaces: =LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A2," ","")).
• Across a whole range: =SUMPRODUCT(LEN(A2:A20)).
• How many times a letter appears, say “a”: =LEN(A2)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"a","")).

To check Google Ads headlines, put each headline in column A and this formula in column B: =MAX(0,LEN(A2)-30). It shows how many characters you’re over and returns 0 if it fits. Drag it down and the headlines to trim jump out.

Excel can count an emoji as 2 characters. If your text has emojis, check the final number in the counter above.

Title tag and meta description length for SEO

Google sets no limit. It truncates titles and descriptions by pixel width, depending on the screen, as its Search Central documentation says. That’s why 60 and 155 are industry benchmarks, not rules. The meta description length that works is the one that puts the point first. Keep your keyword in the first 30 characters, as we explain in our guide to long-tail keywords.

Three business cases where it saves you a headache:

• A dental office launching Google Ads: 15 headlines of 30 characters and 4 descriptions of 90. Paste each one and check the Google Ads rows.
• An online store building a carousel ad: Instagram primary text under 125 so it doesn’t get cut, and a 150-character bio with the offer.
• A gym sending SMS reminders: plain text keeps a 100-character reminder at one message. Add an emoji and it splits in two, so 10,000 reminders become 20,000 billed segments.

To make your bio stand out, run it through the font generator afterwards, knowing that on X each of those letters counts as 2. And there’s more in our free marketing tools.

Frequently asked questions about the character counter

01

How many characters is this text?

Paste it into the box above and you get the answer instantly, with and without spaces, plus words, lines, hashtags and emojis. In Microsoft Word, go to Review and click Word Count. In Google Docs, open Tools, then Word count, or press Ctrl + Shift + C. You may see small differences with emojis or unusual symbols, because every program counts them its own way. Here you count what your reader sees: one emoji is one character.

02

How many characters are in a tweet?

A post on X holds 280 characters without Premium and up to 25,000 with any Premium tier. Not every character weighs the same, though: emojis and Chinese, Japanese or Korean characters count as 2, and every link counts as 23, short or long. That’s why a post that reads 270 in Word may not fit. Your bio gets 160 characters, your display name 50 and your @handle 15. The X row in this counter already applies those rules.

03

How many characters can a LinkedIn post have?

A LinkedIn post can have up to 3,000 characters, according to LinkedIn’s Help Center. That’s plenty for a story, so the real limit is attention: only the first lines show before “see more,” and that’s where you win or lose the click. LinkedIn’s own talent blog puts the About section at 2,600 characters. Comments in LinkedIn groups max out at 1,250. Write the hook first, then cut until every line earns its place.

04

How many characters are in a text message?

A single text message holds 160 characters when everything fits the GSM-7 alphabet, and 70 when it includes anything outside it, like an emoji or a curly quote. Go over and your message splits into segments of 153 or 67 characters, and each segment is billed as one SMS. One emoji can quietly double the cost of a 100-character promo blast. The SMS row in this counter shows the segments and flags when your text switches to Unicode.