Twitter Character Counter
See how much room a post has left before you send it. A live meter tracks your text against the limit for X (280), Instagram captions (2,200) or SMS (160), turning red when you go over. For X it applies the platform's weighting, so links and emoji are counted the way the app counts them. Everything is calculated in your browser.
Limit
0 / 280
280 left
Why This Tool Matters
A post that is five characters too long is a small annoyance when you notice it in the composer, and a bigger one when it was drafted somewhere else. A social media manager writes a launch announcement in a shared document, then needs to know whether the link and two emoji still fit under 280. A founder trims a pitch for an Instagram caption that cuts off at 2,200, and a shop owner needs a text-message reminder to stay inside one 160-character SMS so it is billed once rather than twice.
The reason a plain character count is not enough for X is the weighting: a link is counted as 23 characters whatever its length, and emoji and Chinese, Japanese or Korean characters count double. This tool applies those rules to the X preset, and shows what it counted so the result is not a mystery. It is a drafting aid focused on one limit at a time. If you want totals for words, paragraphs and reading time, use the Word Counter.
How to Use
- 01
Pick a limit
Choose X, Instagram caption or SMS. The meter and the notes under it change to match.
- 02
Write or paste your post
The count updates as you type, and the meter turns red if you pass the limit.
- 03
Trim and copy
Cut until the remaining count is zero or above, then copy your post.
More Text Tools
- Need words, paragraphs and reading time as well? Try the Word Counter
- Want to see how long your sentences run? Try the Sentence Counter
- Want your post to stand out? Try the Bold Text Generator
- Short on room? Strip emoji with Remove Emojis from Text
- Browse all Text Analysis Tools
- Need to change letter case first? Try the full Case Converter
Frequently Asked Questions
How does this count characters for X?
It follows X's published weighting as closely as it can. Every link counts as 23 characters no matter how long it is, characters in the Latin and nearby scripts count as 1, and emoji and Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters count as 2. Line breaks count as one. The line under the meter shows how many links and wide characters it found, so you can see what drove the number.
Why might X show a different count from this tool?
This is an approximation, not X's own code. Link detection is the usual cause: the tool recognises links that start with http://, https:// or www., and bare domains with common endings such as .com, but X may treat an unusual domain differently. The weighting rules can also change, and some paid X accounts are allowed longer posts than 280. Treat the number as a close estimate, and trust the composer for the final check.
Do hashtags, mentions and replies count?
Hashtags and @mentions are ordinary characters, so they count as typed. In a reply, the leading mentions of people you reply to are not counted by the app, so a reply can hold a little more than this tool shows. Media such as images and videos does not use up the character limit.
What are the Instagram and SMS limits?
An Instagram caption can hold up to 2,200 characters, and a post can have up to 30 hashtags. A single SMS holds 160 characters of standard text. If it includes emoji or non-Latin letters, the limit drops to 70, and longer messages are split into several parts and billed as several texts. The SMS preset counts plain characters, so check the note if your text contains emoji.
Is my text sent to a server while I type?
No. The counting runs in your browser and your draft is never uploaded, logged or stored, so it is safe to check unannounced product news or private messages. Close the tab and it is gone.