What's the difference between characters and letters?

Characters include everything: letters, numbers, punctuation, spaces, and symbols. Letters are only A-Z (uppercase and lowercase). For example, 'Hello!' has 6 characters but only 5 letters.

Do emojis count as one character?

It depends on the platform. On Twitter, most emojis count as 2 characters. Some complex emojis (like flags or skin tone modifiers) can count as 3-7 characters. Our tool shows the actual byte count.

What is the SMS character limit?

Standard SMS messages are limited to 160 characters. If you exceed this, your message is split into multiple texts (usually 153 characters each due to concatenation overhead).

Character Counter | Count Characters & Letters Online | Finmato

The Tyranny of Character Limits

In the digital age, brevity isn't just the soul of wit—it's often mandatory. Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, SMS, and even Google search results all impose strict character limits. Go over by even one character, and your message gets cut off or rejected.

Our Character Counter gives you real-time feedback as you type, so you can craft the perfect message without the guesswork. No more copying to Word, no more manual counting—just instant, accurate results.

Common Character Limits

Different platforms have different rules. Here's what you need to know:

Twitter / X

280 characters per tweet (was 140 until 2017). Links count as 23 characters regardless of actual length.

SMS Text Message

160 characters for a single message. Beyond that, it splits into multiple texts (153 chars each).

Meta Description (SEO)

150-160 characters display in Google search results. Longer descriptions get truncated with "..."

Instagram Caption

2,200 characters max. However, only the first 125 characters show before "more" truncation.

Social Media Managers

Craft the perfect tweet or LinkedIn post without exceeding limits. Every character matters when you're trying to fit a CTA.

SEO Specialists

Optimize meta titles (60 chars) and descriptions (160 chars) to maximize click-through rates from search results.

Customer Support

Keep SMS notifications concise and within the 160-character limit to avoid message splitting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do line breaks count as characters?

Yes. A line break (pressing Enter) typically counts as 1-2 characters depending on the system (Unix uses 1, Windows uses 2).

Special characters count as 1 character each in most systems. However, some Unicode characters (like certain emojis) may count as 2 or more.

Why does my count differ from Twitter's?

Twitter has special rules: URLs are always counted as 23 characters, and certain emojis count differently. Our tool shows the raw character count, which may differ slightly from Twitter's weighted count.

Platform Variations

While we strive for accuracy, different platforms may count characters slightly differently (especially with emojis and special characters). Always verify with the target platform's native counter for critical posts.

Data Privacy

We do not store your text. All counting happens locally in your browser.

Character Counter