Weighted Character Counter
Why your editor says 240 and the post box says 287.
- 1 runs
- ~2 ms
- 100% success
Tool input
Overview
About this tool
Shows the four numbers everyone calls “the character count” — bytes, codepoints, graphemes and X’s weighted count — side by side, then breaks down exactly where they disagree: the double-width characters, the emoji built from seven codepoints, the links charged a flat 23 whatever their length, and any invisible characters quietly spending the budget.
Instructions
How to use it
Paste the exact draft, emoji and links included, and set the limit you are up against.
All four numbers are correct
Bytes is what a naive length function returns. Codepoints is what most programming languages call string length, and it counts a family emoji as seven. Graphemes is what a person counts and what the cursor moves over. Weighted is X’s rule. A limit belongs to exactly one of them, which is how two tools can both be right and disagree by fifty characters.
Shortening a link saves nothing on X
Every URL is charged a flat 23 characters however long it really is, so a link already shorter than that is being charged more than it costs. The links table shows the real length beside the charged one.
Questions
Frequently asked
Why does X say my post is too long when my editor says it fits?
Because X weights the count: CJK and full-width characters cost two, and every link costs a flat 23. Your editor is counting characters; X is counting weight.
How many characters is an emoji?
One, to a person and to any platform counting graphemes. A family emoji is seven codepoints and up to twenty-five bytes, which is why a form validating on string length rejects text that would have posted fine.
Does shortening a URL save characters on X?
No. Every link is charged 23 regardless of length, so a short link is charged more than it costs and a long one is charged less.
How is this different from the character counter?
That one answers whether the text fits each platform. This one answers why the number is what it is, which is the question people ask next when the answer was no and it made no sense.
Stay sharp
One email a month, when a tool worth your time ships.
No drip sequence, no launch countdowns. Unsubscribe in one click.