Free Character Counter — Count Letters, Spaces & Symbols Instantly
Track every character in your text with precision using our free online character counter tool. Get instant counts for total characters, characters without spaces, letters, numbers, punctuation, and special symbols—plus see exactly how your content fits within Twitter, SMS, and SEO character limits.
Whether you're crafting tweets, optimizing meta descriptions, composing SMS marketing messages, or ensuring your content meets strict length requirements, this tool gives you real-time character analysis as you type. No clicking, no waiting—just instant feedback.
Understanding Character Types
Letters
Alphabetic characters A-Z (uppercase and lowercase). The core of your written content.
Numbers
Numeric digits 0-9. Important for dates, statistics, prices, and data.
Spaces
Whitespace including spaces, tabs, and line breaks. Essential for readability.
Symbols
Punctuation and special characters: periods, commas, @, #, emojis, and more.
Platform Character Limits Reference
Every platform has its own character restrictions. Use this comprehensive reference to ensure your content fits:
| Platform | Content Type | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Twitter/X | Tweet | 280 |
| Caption | 2,200 | |
| Bio | 150 | |
| Post | 3,000 | |
| Headline | 220 | |
| TikTok | Caption | 2,200 |
| YouTube | Title | 100 |
| YouTube | Description | 5,000 |
| Pin Description | 500 | |
| Meta Title (SEO) | 60 | |
| Meta Description | 160 | |
| SMS | Single Message | 160 |
Understanding SMS Character Limits & Segments
SMS messages have unique character counting rules that affect billing and delivery:
- Standard SMS: 160 characters per segment (GSM-7 encoding)
- Multi-part SMS: 153 characters per segment (7 chars reserved for concatenation headers)
- Unicode SMS: 70 characters per segment (for emojis, non-Latin scripts)
- Warning: A single emoji can reduce your limit from 160 to 70 characters!
Characters vs. Bytes: What's the Difference?
Character Count
A character is a single unit of text—a letter, number, space, or symbol. "Hello" has 5 characters regardless of language or encoding.
"Hello" = 5 characters
"你好" = 2 characters
"😀" = 1 character
Byte Count
A byte measures data storage. In UTF-8 encoding, different characters use different byte amounts.
"Hello" = 5 bytes
"你好" = 6 bytes
"😀" = 4 bytes
Most platforms use character count for limits. Byte count matters for database storage, file sizes, and some API limits.
When Character Count Matters
Social Media Marketing
Craft posts that fit platform limits without truncation. Every character counts in compelling copy.
SEO Optimization
Keep meta titles under 60 and descriptions under 160 characters for proper SERP display.
SMS Campaigns
Minimize segment count to reduce costs. Multi-segment messages cost more to send.
Form Validation
Test content against input field limits before submission to avoid errors.
Email Subject Lines
Keep subjects under 50 characters for optimal open rates and mobile display.
Gaming & Usernames
Check character limits for gamertags, display names, and in-game text.
100% Private — No Data Collection
This character counter runs entirely in your browser. Your text is processed locally using JavaScript—nothing is ever sent to our servers or any third party.
- No uploads or API calls
- No text storage or logging
- Works completely offline
- Safe for sensitive content