Character Counter
Character Counter counts the characters, words, lines and bytes in your text as you type, and shows how many characters you have left for a platform limit.
- Characters
- 0
- Characters without spaces
- 0
- Words
- 0
- Lines
- 0
- Bytes
- 0
Your text is not sent to a server and is not saved.
For cover letters, check how the application site counts characters.
How to use Character Counter
- Type or paste your text into the box.
- Read the character, word, line and byte counts. They change as you type.
- Choose a platform limit, or choose Custom limit and enter a number.
- Check the characters left and the bar, then shorten or extend your text.
When to use Character Counter
- Fit an Instagram caption, a Threads post or an X post inside the limit.
- Check the length of a YouTube title or a meta description before you publish.
- Keep a cover letter or an application answer inside a 500 or 1,000 character limit.
- Check the byte size of a text for a form or a system that limits bytes.
Questions about Character Counter
How does this tool count characters?
It counts the characters you see (grapheme clusters). One emoji is 1 character, and a letter with a combining accent is 1 character. Other tools can count UTF-16 units or bytes, so their result can be different for emoji and some scripts.
Are the platform limits correct?
The limits were checked on 2026-10-05, and platforms can change them at any time. Platforms also count in different ways. X uses weighted counting: Korean, Chinese, Japanese characters and emoji count as 2, and a link counts as 23. The YouTube API documents the description limit as 5,000 bytes. Google sets no limit for meta descriptions; 160 is a common guideline. This tool compares only the number of visible characters with the limit. Check the real limit in each service.
How are bytes calculated?
UTF-8 bytes are exact. EUC-KR bytes are an estimate: ASCII characters count as 1 byte and every other character counts as 2 bytes. This is correct for the Hangul, Hanja and symbols that EUC-KR contains. Emoji and characters outside EUC-KR cannot be saved in EUC-KR, but this tool still counts them as 2 bytes.
How are words and lines counted?
Words are the parts of the text separated by spaces or line breaks. Text in Chinese or Japanese has no spaces, so a full sentence counts as 1 word. Empty text has 0 lines. Each line break adds 1 line, including a line break at the end.
Is my text sent to a server or saved?
No. The count runs in your browser. The text is not sent to a server and is not saved. It disappears when you close or reload the page.
Will my cover letter count match the application site?
Not always. Application sites count in different ways. Some exclude spaces, some count a line break as 2 characters, and some limit bytes. Check the counting rule of the site where you submit the text.