Twitter / X Character Counter

What limit does the counter use?

It uses a limit of 280, which is a value configured in the tool. Platforms change limits and some accounts have different allowances, so the figure here may not match your account. If your plan allows more or less, subtract the difference from the remaining count.

How does it count characters?

It walks through the text one Unicode code point at a time. Each code point counts as 1, each emoji counted as 2, and each http or https link counts as 23 however long it is. Line breaks and spaces count as 1. This is the tool’s counting rule, so confirm in the app when you are close to the limit.

How are links treated?

Anything starting with http:// or https:// up to the next whitespace is treated as a link and counted as 23. Trailing punctuation such as a full stop, comma, bracket or quotation mark is not treated as part of the link and is counted separately. An address typed without the scheme, such as example.com/page, is counted letter by letter.

Why do the weighted count and “text as typed” differ?

Because of the rules above. A tweet with a 53-character link counts the link as 23, and each emoji counts as 2 although it is one code point. One example went from 87 typed code points to a count of 57. Another went from 56 typed to 60 counted.

How are emojis counted?

Characters that Unicode marks as emoji-presentation count as 2 each, and the EMOJIS line counts those characters. A joined emoji such as a family is built from several of them plus invisible joiners, so it adds up to more than 2: the family emoji in the test run cost 8. Symbols that default to text, such as ❤ without a variation selector, are not recognised as emoji.

Does it treat non-Latin scripts differently?

No. Every other code point counts as 1, including accented letters and Japanese or Chinese characters. The tool does not apply any extra weight for particular scripts. If you write in one of these scripts, check the final text in the app.

How are hashtags, mentions and words counted?

Hashtags and mentions are matched with a pattern that accepts letters A–Z, digits and underscores, so a tag with an accented letter is cut at that letter. Words are groups of text separated by whitespace, and a link counts as one word. These counts are informational only; the characters in tags and mentions are counted like any others.