How to count characters for social media
- Write or paste your post. Every platform's counter updates as you type.
- Each card shows the count against that platform's limit, how many characters are left, and where the post will be truncated in the feed behind a "see more" link.
- Check hashtag and mention counts in the summary line, and the number of SMS segments if you send the text as a message.
- Copy the post when every platform you plan to use is green.
Why counts differ between platforms
Platforms count characters differently. X uses weighted counting: every link counts as 23 characters regardless of its length, emoji count as 2, and Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters count as 2, so a 280 limit can mean 140 characters in those languages. Mastodon also counts links as 23. Bluesky and Threads count user-perceived characters (graphemes), so a family emoji made of several code points counts as one. Others count Unicode characters.
The visible part matters as much as the limit. LinkedIn shows about the first 210 characters before "see more", Instagram about 125, and YouTube descriptions about 157, so put the hook and key message first. Instagram allows at most 30 hashtags, and SMS messages switch from 160 to 70 characters per segment as soon as you include a single emoji or character outside the GSM alphabet, which can double or triple the cost of a bulk text campaign.
Counts are calculated in your browser and your draft is kept only on your device.
How many characters is a tweet?
280 weighted characters for standard accounts. Links always count as 23 and emoji as 2. Premium accounts can post longer, but only the first 280 show in the timeline.
What is the LinkedIn post character limit?
3,000 characters for posts. Only about 210 appear before "see more", so lead with your strongest line.
Why did my SMS become two messages?
A single emoji or special character switches the whole message to Unicode, which allows only 70 characters per segment instead of 160.