Character counter

Count visible characters, spaces, Unicode code points and UTF-8 bytes.

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English

Your text

9 characters · 1 word

Your limit (optional)

Count for the limit

Your counts

9Visible characters

8Without whitespace

9Unicode code points

10UTF-16 code units

12UTF-8 bytes

1Words

Count definitions and encoding details

Visible characters group joined emoji and combining accents. Words keep internal apostrophes and hyphens; don’t and well-made each count as one. A blank line starts a paragraph. Line wrapping on screen does not add a line.

Reading time, frequent words and a local draft

Assumed reading speed (words/minute)Assumed speaking speed (words/minute)

These are editable planning assumptions, not a measurement of your pace. Time equals word count divided by the speed you enter.

Keep this draft on this device

Draft saving is off.

Keyword density and frequent phrases

Phrase lengthFind a keyword or phrase

Hide common English words from the one-word table

Case is ignored, and overlapping phrases count. Share is how often a phrase appears out of all the places it could start. Hiding common words does not change that total. These counts are not an SEO score or a recommended density.

Word or phrase	Count	Share

Writing timer

0 seconds · 0 net words added · 0 words/minute

Words per minute uses net words added while the timer runs divided by active minutes. Deleting words reduces the net count. Pasted words count too; this measures this session, not typing skill. Text written while paused is excluded. Reloading clears the timer.

Why do character counts differ?

A visible character can contain several Unicode code points. The large count uses grapheme clusters, so a joined emoji or an accented letter can count as one. Without whitespace removes spaces, including tabs and line breaks.

Next: Word counter

Worked example

Octopus 🐙 has 9 visible characters and 8 without whitespace. It uses 12 UTF-8 bytes and 10 UTF-16 code units.

Next: Word frequency counter

Before you rely on the result

Apps set their own limits. Some count bytes or code units instead of visible characters. Use the matching count when a platform tells you how its limit works.

Next: Duplicate word finder

Tools for the same job

Text style tools: which one to use

Help with the result

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Citation style

ToolOctopus. “Character counter.” Updated 2026-10-11. https://tooloctopus.com/character-counter.

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