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X (Twitter) character counter

Free posts cap at 280 characters. Paid accounts get far more, but 280 remains the length everyone sees without clicking to expand.

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Numbers appear here once you add text.

How the 280 limit works

Every character counts, including spaces and line breaks. Two things are counted differently from what you might expect: links and emoji.

Links are always counted as 23 characters regardless of actual length, because they are rewritten through a shortener. A 200-character URL costs you 23. Emoji generally cost two, and composed emoji such as flags or family groupings cost more.

What actually performs at length

Shorter posts are not automatically better, but they are more forwardable. A post that fits in a glance gets quoted; one that requires reading gets scrolled past.

If your point needs more than 280 characters, a thread outperforms a single long post in most cases, because each post in the thread is separately quotable and the first one still has to earn the click.

Limits for every other platform are collected under social media character counters.

X counts most emoji as two characters and composed ones, such as flags, as more. Links are the bigger trap: every URL costs a flat 23 characters however short it looks.

Common questions

Do links count toward the 280 characters?

Yes, at a flat 23 characters each, no matter how long the URL is. Shortening a link yourself saves nothing.

How many characters do paid accounts get?

Substantially more — into the tens of thousands. The post is collapsed in the timeline with a “show more” link, so the first 280 characters still do all the work of earning attention.

Other platform limits