Word and character counter
Count words, characters and reading time as you type, and see how much room you have left on Instagram, LinkedIn, X and YouTube.
What this counter does
Type or paste your text and it counts your words, characters, sentences and paragraphs as you go, with an estimate of reading time. The bars show how much room you have left on the places marketers write for most: Instagram, LinkedIn, X, YouTube and Google results.
It handles Hindi and other Indian languages as well as emoji, counting each emoji as one character. Your text stays in your browser and isn't sent to our server.
Character limits used in this tool
| Where | Limit used | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram caption | 2,200 | Only the start shows before "more", so lead with the point. |
| LinkedIn post | 3,000 | From LinkedIn's help page. Long posts are also shortened in the feed. |
| X post | 280 | The standard limit. X has its own counting rules for links and some emoji, so check there too. |
| YouTube title | 100 | Long titles can be cut off in search and suggestions. |
| YouTube description | 5,000 | From YouTube's help page. |
| Google title | About 60 | A guide, not a limit. Google has no fixed cap and cuts titles to fit the screen. |
| Meta description | About 160 | Also a guide. Google shortens these to fit the screen as well. |
Platforms can change their limits at any time, so check the app itself before you publish anything where the length is critical. The two Google figures are our rules of thumb. For a closer look at them, try our Google search preview, which measures width in pixels.
How reading time is worked out
We divide your word count by 200 words per minute, a common rule of thumb for adult reading speed. Real speeds vary with the reader and the topic, so treat it as an estimate. For example, a 1,000-word article shows as about 5 minutes.
Writing tips for tight limits
- Put the main point first. Most platforms hide the end of a long post behind "more" or "see more", and people decide quickly whether to tap.
- Cut filler before cutting meaning. Phrases like "in order to" and "we are excited to announce" rarely add anything.
- Don't write to the limit. A limit is the most a platform allows, not a target. Use as many words as the idea needs.
- Write one version per platform. Pasting the same caption everywhere usually means it fits none of them well.
Related reading
Planning posts ahead helps you avoid rushed captions. Our social media content calendar for small brands includes a simple caption formula, and our guide to title tags and meta descriptions covers writing for search.