Character limits that actually matter
Where text gets cut off silently — posts, SMS, search titles, meta descriptions — and a one-minute way to check your text against those limits.
Most writing has no limit. The places that do are the ones that get truncated without telling you: a post that is cut off mid-sentence, an SMS that quietly becomes two messages, a search title that ends in an ellipsis, a meta description that stops before the point.
The limits people ask about most
| Where | Limit | What happens at the limit |
|---|---|---|
| X (Twitter) post | 280 | The post cannot be sent |
| SMS message | 160 | Splits into a second message |
| Search result title | ~60 | Truncated with an ellipsis |
| Meta description | ~160 | Truncated |
| Instagram caption | 2200 | Truncated in the feed |
| LinkedIn post | 3000 | Truncated behind "see more" |
These are the limits these platforms are known for. They change, sometimes without notice, so treat the table as a guide and the platform as the authority — the Character Counter shows the same list with a live count beside it.
Characters are not words, and emoji are not characters
A 20-word sentence can be 90 characters or 130, depending on the words. Word count is useful for length overall, but it tells you nothing about whether a post fits. Emoji add a second trap: one is stored as two code units in most text, so it counts as two characters in a strict counter, while some platforms count it as one. If you are close to a limit, count characters and leave a little room.
A workflow that takes a minute
- Write the text normally, without counting. Word Counter tells you the overall length.
- Paste it into Character Counter and read the row for the platform you are writing for.
- If you are over, cut whole clauses rather than single words — removing "very" and "really" rarely saves enough.
- If the wording is fine but the style is wrong, Case Converter changes case without touching a single word.
- Re-count after every edit. A small addition can push a 278-character post over the limit.
Three mistakes worth avoiding
- Counting words when the limit is characters. The two move in different directions.
- Shortening the visible text but not the truncated one. A page title and its meta description are separate strings with separate limits.
- Trusting a limit you learned a year ago. These numbers change; the platform is the source of truth.
Tools used here: Character Counter · Word Counter · Case Converter
Frequently asked questions
Should I count words or characters?
Characters, whenever a limit is involved. A 20-word sentence can be 90 characters or 130, so word count tells you nothing about whether a post fits.
Do emoji count as one character?
Usually two. An emoji is stored as two code units in most text, which is why a post full of emoji runs out of room sooner than the character count suggests.