Character Counter

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meta description length checker, how many characters

Meta description length: how many characters to use

The number 160 appears in every SEO guide, but it is not a Google limit. The official documentation is clear: there is no length limit for the meta description, and the displayed snippet is cut to fit the device width. The counter measures your text against the 160-character reference and shows what goes past it.

What Google says and how to use 160 sensibly

On the "Snippets and meta descriptions" page for Google Search (developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/snippet, read on November 2, 2026), Google states there is no length limit for the meta description and that the snippet is truncated "as needed, typically to fit the device width". Width is measured in pixels, not letters, so a 150-character text with many wide letters (W, M) can be cut before another with 160 narrow letters (i, l, t). There is no magic number of characters in the official document.
Even so, 160 works as an editing reference: a text of up to about 160 characters usually shows in full on common screens, and going well past it raises the chance of a cut. Use the rule for writing, not as law: put the main information and the word you want to show at the start, because that is what survives the cut. As an example from the tool itself, the sample meta description in Portuguese has 133 characters and the English one 134, both under the reference with room for width to vary.
Another point: Google does not always use your meta description: the official document says the snippet can come from page content when that describes the search better. If you want to control the snippet's maximum length, Google documents the robots directive max-snippet:N, where N is the number of characters. For the rest, what matters is that the description is unique per page, truly describes the content and does not repeat the title. The site's counter measures characters, words and UTF-8 bytes, which also helps when reviewing descriptions with accents.

Checked measurements

Portuguese sample description

Input: Calcule porcentagem online: quanto é X% de Y, ...
Expected output: 133 caracteres, abaixo de 160

Uses 27 characters less than the reference.

English sample description

Input: Calculate percentages online: what is X% of Y, ...
Expected output: 134 caracteres, abaixo de 160

26 characters of headroom.

Text exactly at the reference

Input: a × 160
Expected output: 160 de 160

161 goes over by 1, but Google does not enforce that cut.

Accents in UTF-8

Input: ç × 100
Expected output: 100 caracteres, 200 bytes

Accented letters use 2 bytes each in UTF-8.

Full tool FAQ

Does this tool count characters, words and reading time at once?

Yes. The tool gathers the most-used digital-writing metrics in a single panel, characters with and without spaces, words, unique words, lines, paragraphs, sentences and code points, plus estimates of reading and speaking time. That way you compare length, structure and pace of the text without switching between several tools, and everything updates with each keystroke you type.

Do spaces count as characters?

What counts as a character in a text?

Are characters and words the same thing?

How do you estimate reading time for a text?

How many characters usually fit in a bio, title or description?

Why do different platforms show different counts for the same text?

Is a longer text always better for readability?

Frequently asked questions

What is the ideal meta description length?

Google sets no length. As an editing reference, use up to about 160 characters and put the essentials first, since the cut depends on screen width.

Does Google cut the description at 160 characters?

There is no such fixed cut: the documentation says the snippet is truncated to fit the device width. 160 is just an SEO-writer convention.

Can I limit the size of the snippet Google shows?

Yes, with the robots directive max-snippet:N, where N is the maximum number of characters in the snippet. It limits the size, but does not guarantee which text will be used.

Next steps

Meta description length: how many characters to use

What Google says and how to use 160 sensibly

On the "Snippets and meta descriptions" page for Google Search (developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/snippet, read on November 2, 2026), Google states there is no length limit for the meta description and that the snippet is truncated "as needed, typically to fit the device width". Width is measured in pixels, not letters, so a 150-character text with many wide letters (W, M) can be cut before another with 160 narrow letters (i, l, t). There is no magic number of characters in the official document.

Even so, 160 works as an editing reference: a text of up to about 160 characters usually shows in full on common screens, and going well past it raises the chance of a cut. Use the rule for writing, not as law: put the main information and the word you want to show at the start, because that is what survives the cut. As an example from the tool itself, the sample meta description in Portuguese has 133 characters and the English one 134, both under the reference with room for width to vary.

Another point: Google does not always use your meta description: the official document says the snippet can come from page content when that describes the search better. If you want to control the snippet's maximum length, Google documents the robots directive max-snippet:N, where N is the number of characters. For the rest, what matters is that the description is unique per page, truly describes the content and does not repeat the title. The site's counter measures characters, words and UTF-8 bytes, which also helps when reviewing descriptions with accents.

Checked measurements

Portuguese sample description

Input: Calcule porcentagem online: quanto é X% de Y, ...
Expected output: 133 caracteres, abaixo de 160

Uses 27 characters less than the reference.

English sample description

Input: Calculate percentages online: what is X% of Y, ...
Expected output: 134 caracteres, abaixo de 160

26 characters of headroom.

Text exactly at the reference

Input: a × 160
Expected output: 160 de 160

161 goes over by 1, but Google does not enforce that cut.

Accents in UTF-8

Input: ç × 100
Expected output: 100 caracteres, 200 bytes

Accented letters use 2 bytes each in UTF-8.

Full tool FAQ

Does this tool count characters, words and reading time at once?

Do spaces count as characters?

What counts as a character in a text?

Are characters and words the same thing?

How do you estimate reading time for a text?

How many characters usually fit in a bio, title or description?

Why do different platforms show different counts for the same text?

Is a longer text always better for readability?

Frequently asked questions

What is the ideal meta description length?

Google sets no length. As an editing reference, use up to about 160 characters and put the essentials first, since the cut depends on screen width.

Does Google cut the description at 160 characters?

There is no such fixed cut: the documentation says the snippet is truncated to fit the device width. 160 is just an SEO-writer convention.

Can I limit the size of the snippet Google shows?

Yes, with the robots directive max-snippet:N, where N is the maximum number of characters in the snippet. It limits the size, but does not guarantee which text will be used.