What is Character Counter?
Character counter with real-time text statistics: character count (with/without spaces), byte count (UTF-8/UTF-16), word count, sentence count, paragraph count, line count, and estimated reading time. Supports mixed Chinese/English counting. Suitable for social media character limits (Twitter 280, Instagram 2200, Facebook 63206), SEO content length checks, academic paper word requirements, and translation billing. All counting runs locally in your browser with 100% privacy. Trusted by over 500,000 users in 2026, this is the best free alternative to charactercounter.com.
โถUse Cases7 scenarios
- โSocial media post length checks (Twitter/Instagram/Facebook/Weibo)
- โSEO article content length optimization
- โAcademic paper word count requirements
- โTranslation billing word count
- โSpeech duration estimation
- โSMS character limit checks
- โMeta description length optimization (150-160 characters)
โถHow to Use4 steps
- 1Paste or type your text
- 2See real-time statistics
- 3Check characters/words/sentences/paragraphs
- 4Copy the stats
โถFeatures8 features
- โReal-time stats
- โMixed language support
- โReading time estimate
- โWith/without spaces
- โUTF-8 byte count
- โNo registration required
- โ100% privacy protected
- โFree unlimited
โถFAQ9 questions
What is the Character Counter?
An online text statistics tool. Input: any text. Output: characters (with/without spaces), UTF-8/UTF-16 bytes, words, sentences, paragraphs, and estimated reading time. Use it to check platform limits (Twitter 280, Instagram 2200) and SEO content length.
How are Chinese characters counted?
Each Chinese character counts as 1 character and 1 "word" (different from English word counting). In UTF-8, each Chinese character is 3 bytes.
How is reading time calculated?
Based on average reading speed: ~200-250 words/minute for English, ~300-400 characters/minute for Chinese. Mixed text uses a weighted average.
What is Twitter's character limit?
Twitter/X allows 280 characters. Chinese characters count as 2 characters each (2 weight units). The tool shows actual character count โ note platform-specific counting rules.
What is Instagram's character limit?
Instagram captions are limited to 2200 characters, comments to 2200 characters, and usernames to 30 characters.
Is the word count accurate?
English words are split by spaces and punctuation with >99% accuracy. Chinese is counted by character. Mixed text sums English words and Chinese characters separately.
Is my text uploaded anywhere?
No. All counting runs locally in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, ensuring 100% privacy.
Are newline characters counted?
Yes. "Characters (with spaces)" includes newlines (\n = 1 character). "Characters (no spaces)" excludes both spaces and newlines.
Is this tool free?
Completely free. No registration, no usage limits. This tool offers the same quality as paid tools like charactercounter.com.