X (Twitter) Character Counter
Real-time character count with visibility warnings and auto-detected thread splits. Unicode-aware. Runs in your browser — no signup, no rate limit.
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What the verdicts mean+
Too short (under 60 chars): often feels low-effort — add substance.
Ideal (60-240 chars): sweet spot. Fits cleanly on every screen.
Approaching limit (240-280 chars): may truncate on small previews. Tighten if possible.
Long-form (280+ chars): Use as a thread (split below) or X Premium long-form post.
Common questions
What is the X (Twitter) character limit?+
280 characters for a standard account. X Premium/Premium+ subscribers get a much higher ceiling for long-form posts — the exact number has changed more than once as X has shipped it, so we don't quote one here as gospel. If you're not on a paid tier (or want maximum reach either way), plan around 280.
Why does my emoji count as more than one character?+
X does not count by visible characters (graphemes) the way you might expect — it uses its own weighting. A single emoji, and a whole multi-part emoji like a family or couple emoji joined with zero-width joiners, both count as 2 characters against your limit, not 1. Our counter matches this weighting, not a naive on-screen character count.
Does a link use up my whole 280 characters?+
No. X wraps every recognized link in a t.co redirect and counts it as a fixed 23 characters, no matter how long the actual URL is. This includes bare domains like "example.com" with no http:// or www. in front — not just full links — exactly like X's own composer. Our counter matches that, so the rest of your text is unaffected.
Why is 240 characters the visibility sweet spot?+
240 chars leaves room for QT (quote-tweet) additions when others share your post — they can add their own text without the original being truncated. Plus, on smaller mobile screens, posts past 240 chars sometimes get cut off in feed previews.
How does the thread-split feature work?+
When you paste content over 280 chars, we split it into tweet-sized chunks at the nearest sentence boundary, measured in X's real character weighting (not raw text length). If no sentence break is close enough, we fall back to word boundaries. Each chunk targets 240 chars to leave room for thread numbering or signal markers.