Updated October 9, 2026
Character Counter
Count characters with and without spaces, UTF-8 bytes, words and lines live, plus how many X characters you have left and how many SMS segments your message needs.
0Characters (with spaces)
0Characters (no spaces)
0Words
0UTF-8 bytes
0Lines
0X characters left
0SMS segments
What this tool counts
Seven live numbers: characters with spaces, characters without spaces, words, UTF-8 bytes, lines, X / Twitter characters remaining (out of 280), and SMS segments your message would need.
UTF-8 bytes
Characters and bytes are not the same thing. Plain English letters take 1 byte each in UTF-8, accented letters like é take 2, and most emoji take 4. A 100-character message full of emoji can be 400 bytes, which matters for APIs and databases with byte limits.
X and SMS limits
X (Twitter) allows 280 characters per post; the counter shows how many you have left and turns negative when you go over. SMS is trickier: a message using only basic GSM characters fits 160 per segment, but one emoji or accented character can force the whole message into Unicode mode at 70 characters per segment. Multi-segment messages use 153 and 67 characters per segment because part of each segment carries routing data.
Worked example
"Hello 👋" is 7 characters, 10 UTF-8 bytes (the wave emoji takes 4), leaves 273 X characters, and needs 1 SMS segment in Unicode mode.
Planning estimate only. Results use the list prices shown and may differ from your actual bill. Terms
Frequently asked questions
How are X (Twitter) characters counted?
X counts every character as one toward its 280 limit, including spaces and emoji. The counter shows 280 minus your character count.
Why do emoji use more bytes?
Emoji and many non-Latin scripts need up to 4 bytes per character in UTF-8, while plain ASCII letters need 1. Byte counts matter for databases and APIs with byte limits.
How many SMS segments will my message need?
If your text uses only basic GSM characters, divide by 160 (153 per segment when concatenated). If it contains emoji or characters outside GSM, divide by 70 (67 concatenated). The tool detects this automatically.
What is the GSM character set?
GSM-7 is the basic character set of the SMS standard: Latin letters, digits and common symbols. Characters outside it, including most emoji, force the message into 16-bit Unicode mode with shorter segments.
Is my text sent anywhere?
No. Everything is counted locally in your browser; your text is never uploaded or stored.