How to Count Characters, Words, and Lines Online Instantly

Character limits are everywhere — social media platforms, SMS, HTML meta tags, email subject lines. Exceeding them silently truncates your message, often at the worst possible point. Here's a reference guide to character limits that matter.

Social Media Character Limits

• Twitter/X: 280 characters per tweet (URLs count as 23 characters regardless of length)
• Instagram caption: 2,200 characters (but only first 125 show without tapping "more")
• Instagram bio: 150 characters
• Facebook post: 63,206 characters (not a real concern)
• LinkedIn post: 3,000 characters (700 visible without "see more")
• YouTube title: 100 characters (70 show in search results)
• YouTube description: 5,000 characters

SEO Character Limits

• Page title tag: 50–60 characters (600 pixels display width)
• Meta description: 120–155 characters
• URL slug: Under 75 characters recommended
• Alt text: 125 characters (screen reader practical limit)

SMS Character Limits

• Standard SMS: 160 characters (GSM-7 encoding)
• Unicode SMS: 70 characters (when using Hindi, Arabic, or other non-GSM characters)
• Multi-part SMS: Each segment is 153 characters (GSM) or 67 characters (Unicode)

Email Subject Lines

• Most email clients show 60 characters on desktop
• Mobile email apps show 30–40 characters before truncating
• Target 40–50 characters for maximum visibility across all devices

Count characters and words instantly with our Word and Character Counter.