What counts as a character?
Every letter, number, space, punctuation mark and symbol is a character. "Hello, world!" has 13 characters including the space, or 12 without it. Line breaks also count as characters in most places, which is why the total may be slightly higher than the number of visible symbols.
Common character limits
| Platform or field | Limit |
|---|
| X (Twitter) post | 280 |
| SMS text message | 160 (70 with emojis or Unicode) |
| Meta description (guideline) | About 155–160 |
| Page title (guideline) | About 50–60 |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 |
| Instagram bio | 150 |
Platforms change their limits from time to time, so check the current rules when exact length matters.
When you need a character count
- Writing social posts, ads and headlines that must fit a limit.
- Filling in forms and applications with "maximum characters" fields.
- Writing SEO titles and meta descriptions that are not cut off in search results.
- Checking database or SMS limits when building apps.
Counting words instead? Use the word counter.
Last reviewed October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Do spaces count as characters?
Usually yes. Most character limits, including those on social media and in text messages, count spaces, punctuation and emojis. The calculator shows the count with and without spaces so you can use whichever you need.
How many characters is a tweet or X post?
Standard X (Twitter) posts are limited to 280 characters. Links count as a fixed length no matter how long the actual URL is, and some account types allow longer posts.
Why do emojis sometimes count as two characters?
Some systems count in UTF-16 code units, where many emojis take two units. This counter counts what you see as one character per symbol for most emojis, while the byte count shows how much storage the text uses.
How long should a meta description be?
Search engines cut off long descriptions in results based on pixel width. Keeping meta descriptions to roughly 150–160 characters, and page titles to roughly 50–60, is a common guideline.
How many characters fit in one text message?
A standard SMS holds 160 characters using the basic GSM alphabet. If the message includes emojis or certain accented letters, it switches to Unicode and the limit drops to 70 characters per message.