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.
▶Use Cases7 scenarios
- ◆Social media post length checks (Twitter/Instagram/Facebook/Weibo)
- ◆SEO article content length optimization
- ◆Academic paper word count requirements
- ◆Translation billing word count
- ◆Speech duration estimation
- ◆SMS character limit checks
- ◆Meta description length optimization (150-160 characters)
▶How to Use4 steps
- 1Paste or type your text
- 2See real-time statistics
- 3Check characters/words/sentences/paragraphs
- 4Copy the stats
▶Features8 features
- ✓Real-time stats
- ✓Mixed language support
- ✓Reading time estimate
- ✓With/without spaces
- ✓UTF-8 byte count
- ✓No registration required
- ✓100% privacy protected
- ✓Free unlimited
▶FAQ9 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 — 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.