How to Use Character Counter
Character Counter is a real-time text analysis tool that counts characters, bytes (UTF-8), words, and lines — with a full breakdown of full-width and half-width characters. Just paste your text and all stats appear instantly, no sign-up needed.
Open the app
Visit Character Counter. The text input is focused automatically — you can start typing or pasting right away without any setup.
Type or paste your text
Type directly into the input area or paste text from your clipboard (Ctrl+V / Cmd+V). All counters update in real time as you type.
Check the main counters
The four stat cards show your Characters, Bytes (UTF-8), Lines, and Words at a glance. Characters and Bytes are highlighted as the primary metrics.
Review the Breakdown section
The Breakdown panel gives a detailed split: full-width characters, half-width characters, full-width spaces ( ), half-width spaces, newlines, and digits (including full-width digits).
Check Byte Composition
The Byte Composition bar visualizes the ratio of multi-byte characters (CJK, emoji) to single-byte characters (ASCII) in your text. Useful for estimating database storage or API payload sizes.
Copy or clear
Use the Copy button to copy the current text to your clipboard. Use Clear to reset the input and all counters back to zero.
What's Measured
- Characters (Unicode code points)
- Bytes (UTF-8 encoding)
- Lines (newline-separated)
- Words (space/newline-delimited)
- Full-width vs half-width chars
- Digits (full-width and half-width)
Tips
- Emoji count as 1 character (surrogate-pair aware)
- CJK characters = 3 bytes in UTF-8
- Emoji = 4 bytes in UTF-8
- Full-width space ( ) is counted separately
- Word count is approximate for CJK text
What counts as one character?
Each Unicode code point counts as one character, including spaces and newlines. Emoji that use surrogate pairs in JavaScript are handled correctly and counted as a single character, not two.
How is the byte count calculated?
Bytes are counted using UTF-8 encoding via the browser's built-in TextEncoder API. ASCII characters (English letters, digits, standard punctuation) are 1 byte. CJK characters (Japanese, Chinese, Korean) are 3 bytes. Most emoji are 4 bytes.
What is the difference between full-width and half-width?
Full-width characters occupy double the horizontal space of half-width characters. CJK characters, hiragana, katakana, and full-width forms (Ａ, １, ！) are full-width. Standard ASCII letters, digits, and symbols are half-width. This distinction matters for character-limit systems (e.g., some SMS or tweet counting rules).
How are words counted?
Words are delimited by whitespace (spaces, full-width spaces, and newlines). For CJK text that has no spaces between words, the word count reflects space-separated segments and serves as an approximate reference rather than a precise linguistic count.
Does it support Japanese and other CJK text?
Yes. The app fully supports Japanese (hiragana, katakana, kanji), Chinese, Korean, and other Unicode text. Full-width/half-width detection and UTF-8 byte calculation all handle CJK characters correctly.
Ready to count your characters?
Open Character Counter