Character Counter

Count characters, words & sentences with live limits.

Count characters, words, sentences, paragraphs and lines as you type, with reading and speaking time estimates. Stay within Twitter, SEO title, meta-description and SMS limits using built-in presets and a live remaining-characters meter. Runs fully in your browser — nothing is uploaded.

How to use Character Counter

  1. Type or paste text

    Enter any text into this free online character counter and word counter to see live counts update instantly as you write, with nothing uploaded.

  2. Read the live counts

    Watch the character count, with and without spaces, plus words, sentences, paragraphs and lines update in real time the moment you type or paste.

  3. Pick a limit preset

    Choose a built-in limit for Twitter/X, an SEO title, a meta description or SMS to keep your text within the right character limit for that platform.

  4. Set a custom limit

    Enter your own target number in the custom field and the remaining-characters meter shows exactly how many characters you have left or are over.

  5. Check time estimates

    Review the estimated reading and speaking time alongside letters, digits and punctuation stats to gauge how long your content takes to consume.

  6. Copy your text

    Click copy to grab your text once it fits the limit, ready to paste into a tweet, headline, caption or meta tag with confidence.

Frequently asked questions

How do I count characters in my text?

Just type or paste your text into the box — the character count (with and without spaces), word count, sentence and paragraph counts all update instantly above it. There's no button to press and nothing to install.

How are words counted?

A word is any sequence of characters separated by spaces or line breaks. Hyphenated words like “well-known” count as one word, matching how most word processors count.

Why does the character count matter for SEO?

Search engines truncate title tags at roughly 60 characters and meta descriptions at around 160. Staying under those limits keeps your full message visible in search results.

Does it count spaces and line breaks?

Yes — “Characters” includes spaces, tabs and line breaks. Use “Characters (no spaces)” when a platform counts only visible characters.

What's the difference between a character counter and a word counter?

A character counter tallies every individual character, while a word counter tallies whole words. This tool is both — an online character counter and word counter that shows characters, characters without spaces, words, sentences, paragraphs and lines all at once.

Is there a character limit for tweets, Instagram captions or SMS?

Yes — X (Twitter) allows 280 characters, Instagram captions up to 2,200, and a single SMS 160. Use the built-in limit presets and the remaining-characters meter to keep your text within any platform's character limit.

Is my text sent anywhere?

No. Everything is counted in your browser with JavaScript. Nothing you type is uploaded, logged or stored on a server.

Related tools — Text & content tools