Twitter Character Counter
Count characters for X/Twitter — live count against the limits.
How to use Twitter Character Counter
- Type or paste your post — the count updates live.
- Watch the 280 line (or the Premium limit if you subscribe).
- Remember links cost 23 flat, and emoji/CJK count double — budget accordingly.
- Over the limit? Tighten, or split into a thread with our Thread Formatter.
What is Twitter Character Counter?
A character counter for X (Twitter) tracks your post length live against the platform's limits — the 280-character standard, and the far longer allowance for X Premium subscribers. It removes the guesswork of writing right up to the edge and getting cut off.
X's counting has quirks worth knowing: links always count as 23 characters no matter their real length (X shortens them via t.co), and some characters (many emoji, CJK characters) count as 2. A naive character count and X's count can differ — this counter reflects X's rules, not raw length.
About the Twitter Character Counter
Type or paste your post and watch the count against 280 (and the Premium limit), with over-limit clearly flagged.
The rules it applies: links = 23 characters always (a 100-character URL and a 20-character one both cost 23 — so links are cheaper than they look, and you can't save space by shortening them yourself); double-width characters — most emoji and CJK text count as 2, so an emoji-heavy post hits the limit faster than the visible length suggests; mentions and hashtags count normally (the @ and # included). For threads, each post gets its own 280 — our Thread Formatter splits long text across them.
Practical use: fitting a complete thought into one post (the 280 discipline that made Twitter Twitter — tighter writing is often better writing), leaving room for a link or hashtag, and checking before posting rather than getting truncated mid-sentence. Premium's long posts changed the game for some, but the 280 craft — say it in one breath — still rewards clarity.