Count characters, words, lines and sentences in any text — live as you type. Perfect for tweets, bios, forms and messages with character limits.
| Characters (with spaces) | 0 |
| Characters (no spaces) | 0 |
| Words | 0 |
| Lines | 0 |
| Sentences | 0 |
Just type or paste your text — the counts update live as you type. Use Clear to start over.
A character counter counts every letter, number, space and punctuation mark in a piece of text. Many websites and apps limit how much you can write: a tweet, a bio, a username, a text message, a form field or a meta description all have character limits. If your text is too long, it gets cut off or rejected. This free character counter shows the count live as you type, so you always know how much space you have left.
Characters and words are different, and the limit you face decides which one matters. A social media bio may allow 150 characters, while an essay may need 500 words. A headline may allow 60 characters, while a text message allows 160. This counter shows both counts, plus lines and sentences, so one tool covers every limit you meet. Writers, students, marketers and social media users all use it every day.
Take the text "Hello world". This character counter shows 11 characters with spaces, 10 characters without spaces, and 2 words. A longer example: a tweet of 280 characters is about 40 to 50 words, and a text message of 160 characters is about 25 words. The bio on most social media profiles allows about 150 characters, which is roughly 25 words. Paste your own text above and watch the counts change as you type.
Characters with spaces counts everything you type: letters, numbers, spaces, line breaks and punctuation. Characters without spaces counts only letters, numbers and punctuation, which is the count some forms and apps use. Words are counted by splitting the text at spaces. Lines are counted by line breaks, and sentences are counted by full stops, question marks and exclamation marks. Emojis usually count as one or two characters, depending on the platform, so leave a little room if your text has emojis.
Know which count your app uses. Some apps count spaces and some do not, so check both counts before you submit. Leave room for emojis. Emojis can count as two characters on some platforms, so keep a few characters spare. Shorten bios with abbreviations. If your bio is too long, shorten words like "and" to "&" and remove filler words. Use it for headlines. Search results cut off titles after about 60 characters, so keep headlines short and put the important words first. Count before you paste. Check the count here first, so a form does not cut off your text halfway through a word.
Paste the sentence "Hello, world!" into the box above. The character counter shows 13 characters, because it counts the letters, the comma, the exclamation mark and the space. Without spaces it shows 11 characters. Now try a message of 280 characters, which is the limit for a post on X (Twitter). If the counter shows more than 280, you must shorten the message before you can post it. This is why writers check characters, not just words, when they write for social media.
Counting only words. A form that allows 500 characters will reject a 100-word message if the words are long, so always check the character count. Forgetting spaces count too. Most character limits include spaces, so a message with many spaces uses up the limit faster. Counting emojis as one character. Some systems count an emoji as two characters, so leave a little room when you use them. Pasting hidden formatting. Text copied from Word can carry invisible characters that add to the count, so paste as plain text when it matters. Trusting the count for a different platform. Every platform counts slightly differently, so check the count in the platform itself before you post.
Pro Tip: If you are just over the limit, look for words you can shorten: "do not" becomes "don't", "because" becomes "as", and extra adjectives can often be deleted.
Note: This counter counts every character you type, including spaces, punctuation and line breaks. The "without spaces" count removes spaces only.
More practice: Here is one more example to try: paste the two sentences "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs." into the box above. Together they use every letter of the English alphabet at least once, which is why typists and designers use them to test fonts. The counter will show 85 characters with spaces and 69 characters without spaces, and it will count 17 words. Try removing one sentence and watch all three numbers fall. Now type your own name and the name of your city, and check how many characters they take up. This is useful when a form limits your answer to 50 characters, because you can see at once whether your answer will fit or needs to be shortened.
What is the difference between characters with and without spaces? "With spaces" counts every character you type, including spaces. "Without spaces" counts only letters, numbers and punctuation. Some forms use one count and some use the other, so this tool shows both.
How many characters are in a tweet? A post on X (Twitter) allows 280 characters for most accounts. That is about 40 to 50 words. Use the counter above to check your post before you send it.
How many characters are in a text message? A standard SMS allows 160 characters. Longer messages are split into two or more messages, which can cost more.
Do emojis count as characters? Yes, and on some platforms one emoji counts as two characters. Leave a few characters spare if your text has emojis.
Is my text saved anywhere? No. Counting happens in your browser only. Your text never leaves your device and is never sent to our servers.
What is the difference between this and the Word Counter? The Word Counter focuses on words, reading time and paragraphs, while this Character Counter focuses on characters, lines and sentences. Use the Word Counter for essays and the Character Counter for bios, tweets and forms.
How many characters are in a WhatsApp message? A single WhatsApp message can hold up to 65,536 characters, which is far more than a text message or a tweet. Most everyday WhatsApp messages are only a few hundred characters, so you will rarely reach the limit.
What is the difference between a word counter and a character counter? A word counter counts groups of letters separated by spaces. A character counter counts every single letter, number, space and punctuation mark. This tool shows both.