What is a character counter?
A character counter measures the length of text as you type or paste it. It shows total characters, characters without spaces and word count, then compares the text against a limit you choose. This is helpful for social posts, titles, snippets, form fields, advertisements and any writing task with a strict maximum length.
How to count characters
- Enter or paste text into the editor.
- Set your own character limit, or choose a common platform preset.
- Watch total characters and remaining space update immediately.
- Edit the text until it fits the intended limit.
The counter treats spaces, punctuation and line breaks as characters in the total. The second count removes whitespace, which helps when a form or system asks for a no-spaces limit. Word count is also included for quick context. The remaining number becomes negative when the text is over the selected limit and turns amber as it approaches the final portion of that limit.
Common character limits
Different services use different rules, so their limits can change and may count links, emoji or formatting differently. The included presets are useful starting points: an X post is commonly 280 characters, a meta description is often written near 160 characters, and Instagram or TikTok captions allow much longer text. Always check the destination platform before publishing important content.
Private browser counting
The character count runs locally with JavaScript. Your text is not uploaded, stored or sent to an account. You can use the tool for personal notes, unpublished social copy, application responses or confidential drafts, then clear the editor when you finish. Because services may count links, emoji and formatting differently, compare the final text directly in the destination editor before publishing any time-sensitive post. A saved template can also help you reuse a reliable character budget across recurring campaigns and content types.