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Twitter (X) Character Counter

Paste or type your post and see exactly how X will count it: links as 23 characters, emoji as 2, accented and non-Latin text by weight. Pick your limit and watch what's left.

  • Counts like X does
  • 280 and Premium limits
  • Words, links, hashtags, emoji
  • Nothing leaves your browser

How to count characters for X

X's limit is not a plain character count. It's a weighted count, and the rules decide whether a post that looks fine gets refused. This counter applies the same rules the composer does.

  1. Type or paste your post. The counter updates as you type. Line breaks, links, mentions, hashtags and emoji are all counted the way X's composer counts them.
  2. Choose your limit. Free accounts get 280 weighted characters. Premium subscribers can write longer posts; pick the Premium option to check against that limit instead.
  3. Trim or split. If you're over, the bar turns red and the overflow is highlighted. Cut words, shorten a link (it always costs 23, so one link is enough) or move the rest to a thread.

How X counts characters

  • Plain text counts 1 per character for Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Hebrew, Arabic and most European scripts, including accented letters.
  • CJK characters, emoji and decorative Unicode letters count 2. A post in Japanese or Chinese effectively has a 140-character limit, and so does a post written in "fancy font" characters.
  • Every link counts 23, because X wraps it in a t.co link of fixed length. A 12-character link and a 200-character link cost the same.
  • Line breaks count 1 each. Blank lines cost one too.
  • Mentions and hashtags count in full, except the automatic "Replying to" mentions on a reply.
  • Attached media doesn't count. Images, GIFs, videos and polls don't use characters. Quote posts don't either.

The limits in 2026

Standard accounts post up to 280 weighted characters. X Premium subscribers get long-form posts, which X advertises at up to 25,000 characters; the first part shows in the timeline with a "Show more" link. Display names allow 50 characters, bios 160, and the @username 15. Those fields count plain characters, not weighted ones.

Getting under the limit without losing the point

  • Put the link last and keep only one. Each extra link costs 23.
  • Replace a long emoji run with one emoji. Five emoji cost 10 characters.
  • Cut the opener. "I think that", "Just wanted to share", "Thread:" rarely survive a second read.
  • Numbers beat words: "3" costs one character, "three" five.
  • If the idea needs more room, split it. The second post in a thread costs nothing in reach if the first one earns the click. Our thread splitter breaks long text at sentence boundaries and numbers the parts.

Twitter character limit: FAQ

How many characters can a tweet have?

Standard accounts can post up to 280 weighted characters. X Premium subscribers can post much longer text (X advertises up to 25,000 characters), which the composer shows as a "Show more" post. Check the Premium option above to count against that limit.

Why does X count some characters as two?

X weights characters. Code points in the basic Latin, Latin-1, Greek, Cyrillic, Hebrew, Arabic and similar ranges count as 1. Most CJK characters, emoji and the "fancy font" letters from Unicode math blocks count as 2. That's why a post that looks short can still hit the limit.

How are links counted in a tweet?

Every link is wrapped by X's t.co shortener and counted as 23 characters, no matter how long or short the original URL is. Shortening a link yourself saves nothing.

Do emoji count as one or two characters?

Two, regardless of how many code points the emoji is made of. A single flag, a skin-tone emoji or a family emoji each cost 2, the same as a plain smiley.

Do mentions and hashtags count toward the limit?

Yes, @mentions and #hashtags in the body count character for character. The only mentions that don't count are the ones in a reply's "Replying to" line, which X handles separately.

Do line breaks count?

Yes, each line break counts as one character. Blank lines between paragraphs cost one each too.

What happens if I go over 280?

The Post button stays disabled and the extra text is highlighted in the composer. Either cut, or split the text into a thread. Our thread splitter does the splitting at sentence boundaries for you.

More free X tools and guides