Counting words by hand is slow, and most writing has hidden limits that quietly hurt you when you cross them. Here are the limits worth knowing and how to stay inside them.
The limits that matter
- SEO title: about 60 characters before Google truncates it.
- Meta description: about 155 to 160 characters.
- Tweet / X post: 280 characters.
- SMS: 160 characters per segment.
- Headlines: shorter is usually stronger; aim for 6 to 12 words.
Going over does not break anything, but it often means your text gets cut off where you did not choose.
Count as you write
- Open the Word & Character Counter.
- Paste or type your text. Words, characters, sentences, and reading time update live.
Everything runs in your browser, so even unpublished drafts stay private.
Characters with and without spaces
Some limits count spaces, some do not. Twitter counts everything; certain form fields count only visible characters. A good counter shows both so you are never surprised by an off-by-a-few rejection.
Reading time is a useful proxy
Reading time (words divided by an average reading speed) is a quick sense check for blog posts and emails. A how-to that runs past ten minutes usually wants tighter editing or a split into two pieces.
Related tools
- Estimating just the read time? Use the Reading Time Estimator.
- Checking how readable the writing is? Try the Readability Score.
- Cleaning up messy spacing first? See the Whitespace Cleaner.
Know the limit for where the text is going, then write to it. The counter keeps you honest in real time.