X (Twitter) Character Counter
Write once, check every platform at the same time. Paste or type your text and this counter shows it against the live limits for X, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky, and Pinterest, with any limit you have blown past highlighted. X gets its own weighted count because links and emoji do not cost one character each there. Word count and reading time come along for free, and nothing you type leaves the browser.
Your text
- Characters
- 0
- Words
- 0
- No spaces
- 0
- Reading time
- 0 sec
Counting happens in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded, stored, or logged, so unpublished drafts and client copy are safe to paste in.
Platform limits
X does not count characters literally. Every link is rewritten through t.co and billed at a flat 23 characters however long it is, and emoji and CJK characters count as 2 each. Your text currently contains 0 links, so the X row reads 0 where a plain count reads 0. Subscribers can post up to 10,000 characters, but the feed still truncates at 280 behind a Show more link.
How to use it
- 1
Type or paste your draft into the text box. Counting is live, so there is no button to press.
- 2
Read the platform rows. Each shows the count for that surface against its limit, with a bar that fills as you approach it and a clear marker once you go over.
- 3
Watch the X row separately. It uses weighted counting, so URLs count as 23 characters each and emoji count as 2, exactly as the X composer does.
- 4
Use the word count and reading time to sanity-check the long-form fields such as LinkedIn posts and YouTube descriptions.
- 5
Trim to the truncation point, not just the limit. Getting the hook into the first 125 to 140 characters matters more than fitting the ceiling.
Every limit in one place
Character limits are set per surface, not per platform, which is why a caption that fits one field overflows another on the same network. The current composer limits are: X post 280 characters (10,000 for paying subscribers, though the 280 mark is still where the feed truncates with a Show more link); Instagram caption 2,200 and Instagram bio 150; LinkedIn post 3,000 and LinkedIn headline 220; TikTok caption 2,200; Facebook post 63,206; YouTube title 100 and YouTube description 5,000; Threads 500; Bluesky 300; Pinterest description 500.
The hard ceilings are rarely the real constraint. What matters more is the truncation point, which is the number of characters shown before a Show more link appears. Instagram cuts a caption at roughly 125 characters in the feed, LinkedIn at around 140 on mobile and about 210 on desktop, and YouTube shows about 157 characters of a description before the fold. A 2,200 character caption is allowed, but only the first line or two does any work, so front-load the hook and treat the rest as depth for people who already stopped scrolling.
Titles behave differently again. YouTube allows 100 characters but displays around 60 in search and suggested feeds, and mobile cuts sooner. If a keyword sits past character 60 in a title, assume most of the audience never sees it.
Why X counts your text differently
X does not count characters the way a plain text field does. Two rules change the arithmetic, and both are implemented in the counter above.
First, links. Every URL in a post is wrapped in the t.co shortener and charged as a fixed 23 characters no matter how long the original link is. A 140 character tracking URL costs 23. A seven character link also costs 23. There is no benefit to shortening a URL before you paste it, and no penalty for a long one with UTM parameters attached.
Second, character weight. X assigns a weight of 1 to Latin, Cyrillic, and most European text, and a weight of 2 to everything outside those ranges, including CJK scripts and emoji. So a single emoji costs 2 of your 280, and a flag emoji built from two regional indicator symbols costs 4. A post that reads as 260 characters in a word processor can be over the limit on X once emoji are counted. The counter uses code points rather than UTF-16 units, which is why it agrees with X on characters that most naive counters get wrong.
Other platforms are more literal. Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok count characters as written, including spaces, line breaks, hashtags, and the @ of a mention, and none of them discount links.
Writing to the fold instead of to the limit
Once you know both numbers, the limit and the truncation point, the craft question is simple: what has to happen before the cut.
On a feed post, the first sentence carries the click. Put the specific claim, number, or tension there and leave the setup out entirely. On LinkedIn, the first 140 characters decide whether anyone taps Show more, and a question or a concrete result outperforms a preamble. On Instagram, hashtags placed at the end of a long caption sit far below the fold, which is fine because they are for classification, not reading.
Word count and reading time matter for the long fields. The counter estimates reading time at 200 words per minute, which is a conservative pace for screen reading. A 3,000 character LinkedIn post is roughly 500 words, or about two and a half minutes, which is close to the upper limit of what a feed reader tolerates in one sitting. If a draft passes that, it usually wants to be a carousel or an article rather than a post.
FAQ
What is the character limit on X?
A standard X post is 280 characters. Paying subscribers can post up to 10,000, but the feed still truncates at the 280 mark behind a Show more link, so the first 280 characters are what most people read. Counting is weighted rather than literal: every URL costs a flat 23 characters and emoji and CJK characters cost 2 each.
Do links count toward the X character limit?
Yes, and always at 23 characters regardless of the actual URL length, because X rewrites every link through its t.co wrapper. Shortening a link before posting saves you nothing. A long URL with tracking parameters costs the same 23 characters as a short one, so keep your UTM tags.
How long can an Instagram caption be?
2,200 characters, including spaces, line breaks, and hashtags. The practical limit is much lower: the feed shows roughly the first 125 characters before a Show more link, so the opening line is doing nearly all of the work. The Instagram bio is a separate and much tighter field at 150 characters.
What is the LinkedIn post character limit?
3,000 characters for a feed post, and 220 for your profile headline. LinkedIn truncates a post at around 140 characters on mobile and about 210 on desktop, so the hook has to land in the first line or two. Comments have their own separate limit and are shorter than posts.
Do emoji count as more than one character?
On X, yes. Emoji fall outside the weight-1 character ranges, so each one costs 2 characters, and composite emoji such as flags or skin-tone variants cost more because they are built from several code points. Most other platforms count an emoji as a single character, which is why the X row here can show a higher number than the rest.
Is my text sent anywhere?
No. The counter runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is transmitted, logged, or stored, and there is no account to create, so drafts under embargo or containing client information are safe to paste in.
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