Where the limits bite
| Where | Limit |
|---|---|
| Search result title tag | 60 characters |
| Meta description | 155 characters |
| X post | 280 characters |
| Bluesky post | 300 characters |
| SMS, single message | 160 characters |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 characters |
| LinkedIn post | 3,000 characters |
| UCAS personal statement | 4,000 characters |
| YouTube description | 5,000 characters |
What counts as a character
- Spaces and line breaks
- Counted in the main total, excluded from the no-spaces total. Most platform limits count them.
- Emoji
- Counted as one character here. Some systems store an emoji as two units and will report a higher number.
- Accented letters
- One character each.
- Tabs
- One character, and treated as whitespace for the no-spaces total.
Questions
What is the difference between the two character totals?
The first counts every character including spaces, tabs and line breaks. The second excludes all whitespace. Platform limits almost always mean the first.
Why does another tool report a different number for emoji?
Many tools count storage units rather than characters, so an emoji reads as two. This counter reports what a reader would see, which is one character.
Does this work for a meta description?
Yes. The panel shows how many characters remain against 155, which is the usual working figure. Google truncates on pixel width rather than an exact count, so treat it as a guide.