Character Limit Checker

One counter, every limit

Every publishing surface has a number: SMS packs into 160 characters, a meta description lives around 155, an X post takes 280, Bluesky 300, a YouTube title about 100, and a Google Ads headline allows only 30. This page counts your text's actual characters against any of those limits, and the answer it prints is always the same two-comparison pair: characters used out of the limit, then either what remains or by how much you are over. It is the difference between shipping a tweet that gets clipped and shipping one that lands complete.

The count is the blunt, reliable one: every character position — letters, spaces, punctuation, emoji, line breaks — is one unit. A platform's own counter sometimes treats emoji or composed accent marks differently; this page counts the text as it lives in the field, which is the version most clipboard-driven publishing flows actually deliver.

A worked example, step by step

Scenario: a product listing must fit a YouTube title of 100 characters, and a meta description of 155.

1. Title draft: "Fresh-baked bagels, delivered warm." — 35 characters. Against the 100 limit: 65 left. Comfortable.
2. Meta line: "Hand-carved oak shelves, custom sizes, free delivery this week." — 63 characters. Against 155: 92 remain; there is room for a shipping note.
3. Fuller draft with the note added (" Worldwide shipping available on request."): 104 characters.
4. That full draft fails a YouTube title: over by 4 against the 100-character limit. Cut the weakest word and re-check.
5. Ads headline: "Save 20% on weekday slots this month." — 37 characters against a 30 limit: over by 7. The exact number tells you how much to cut, not just that you must.

In the last step the surplus does the editing: shorten to "Save 20% on weekdays this month." and the count falls to 32, still over — the two-word trim needed is visible before a single word is deleted. The numbers all come from the same count, so a single paste can serve several checks by printing the used figure and re-stating the limit.

Common limits worth memorising

The Ads row is the discipline builder: 30 characters allows roughly five words, which is why that copy format rewards noun phrases and punishes clauses. Once you have slept on that constraint, every other limit feels generous.

Editing with an "over by N" figure

The number that guides edits is the surplus. Over by 4 words to the? Cut the title's trailing phrase. Over by 74? Restructure rather than trims. Above the SMS 160, a second message charges double, so the surplus crossing zero is a cost threshold, not a style preference. And when you are UNDER, the leftover is a budget: a meta description with 30 characters to spare is missing its location or its benefit line — the counter shows the empty slot that a convert could fill.

Mistakes that quietly flip a count

• Pasting with hidden spaces or newlines. Trailing whitespace counts; strip before measuring a headline.
• Assuming emoji = one character everywhere. Many platforms count them as two; leave margin on emoji-heavy copy.
• Cutting mid-word to fit. A clipped word costs more credibility than a shorter sentence; prefer restructuring.
• Composing straight into the platform's box. The platform's counter may compose characters differently; measure here first for cross-paste consistency.
• Forgetting the separator in previews. Search snippets append " | Site name" after your meta text — keep a few characters spare.

Keep exploring

• Word Counter — word and sentence counts for reading-depth pieces, the sibling of character counts.
• Test Score Percentage — scoring rubrics by points, when the limit is quality rather than length.
• Add Days to a Date — scheduling the publish date once the copy is final.
• Guide: How to Calculate Percentages.