--- title: "Character Counter - Count Characters Online Free | CanDoYa" description: "Free online character counter to count characters with and without spaces instantly. Live limits for X, SMS and meta descriptions. Runs in your browser." url: https://candoya.com/tools/character-counter/ locale: en type: browser-tool --- # Free Character Counter Category: Text & Writing ## What is a character counter? A character counter is a free tool that counts the characters in your text, both with and without spaces, the moment you type or paste. It also tracks live word, sentence and line totals and shows how much room you have left for limited fields like an X post or SMS - all in your browser, so nothing is uploaded. The counter runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript, so your text never touches a server, there's no account, and there are no length limits beyond what your device can handle. Characters are counted as your keyboard types them, with the full-text total and the spaces-removed total shown side by side. ## How to use it 1. **Paste your text** - Type or paste your text into the box above. 2. **Read the character counts** - Characters with spaces, characters without spaces, words, sentences and lines update live as you type. 3. **Check the limits** - The limit panel shows how many characters you have left for X, SMS, a meta description or an Instagram caption, turning red when you go over. ## Who it's for - **Social media managers** fitting a post inside the 280-character X limit or a 2,200-character Instagram caption. - **SEO writers** keeping a meta description near 160 characters so it isn't truncated. - **Anyone texting** who wants to stay within a single 160-character SMS segment. - **Students and applicants** trimming an answer to a strict character cap. ## Expert note We count characters as UTF-16 code units - the same unit a textarea's maxlength uses and what most web forms enforce - so a plain letter is 1 and many emoji count as 2. Platforms differ on the fine print: X weights some characters and URLs specially, and an SMS that contains any non-GSM character drops from 160 to 70 characters per segment, so treat the limit panel as a close guide rather than the platform's exact verdict. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does it count characters with and without spaces? Yes. Both totals are shown side by side, so you can match whichever one a form or assignment asks for. ### Is the character counter free? Yes - it's 100% free, with no sign-up and no limits. It runs entirely in your browser. ### Is my text uploaded anywhere? No. Everything is processed locally in your browser; your text never leaves your device. ### How are emoji and other symbols counted? Characters are counted as UTF-16 code units, so a single emoji often counts as 2. That matches how a textarea's maxlength and many platforms count, though some platforms vary. ### What character limits does it track? X / Twitter posts (280), a single SMS segment (160), meta descriptions (160) and Instagram captions (2,200). Each shows how many characters you have left. ## Related tools - [Word Counter](https://candoya.com/tools/word-counter/) - [Sentence Counter](https://candoya.com/tools/sentence-counter/) - [Reading Time Calculator](https://candoya.com/tools/reading-time-estimator/) - [Speaking Time Calculator](https://candoya.com/tools/speaking-time-estimator/) --- *Markdown edition of , published for AI agents and other automated readers. Index of key pages: .*