Character Limits You Should Know

  • Twitter/X: 280 chars (was 140 until 2017—doubled engagement)
  • Meta description (SEO): 155-160 chars before Google truncates
  • LinkedIn post: 3,000 chars, but only ~140 show before 'see more'
  • SMS: 160 chars per segment (longer = multiple messages = higher cost)

For Writers & Students

  • Essay word counts: 500 (short), 1000-1500 (standard), 2500+ (research paper)
  • Blog posts: 1500-2500 words rank best in Google (Backlinko study)
  • Average reading speed: 200-250 words/minute (used for time estimates)
  • Academic tip: 'Characters no spaces' often required for abstracts

For Developers & SEO

  • Title tags: 50-60 chars for full display in search results
  • Alt text: Keep under 125 chars for screen reader compatibility
  • Commit messages: 50 chars subject line, 72 chars body (Git convention)
  • URL slugs: Shorter is better—under 60 chars ideal for sharing

Fun Text Facts

  • Average English word: 4.5 characters
  • Longest English word: 45 letters (pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis)
  • Hemingway's 6-word story: 'For sale: baby shoes, never worn.' = 33 chars
  • This tool counts UTF-8 bytes—emojis are 4 bytes each! 😀