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String Length Calculator online

Get the exact character and byte length of any string in multiple encodings

String Length Calculator logo
by
CHUNKY
MUNSTER
// Input string
0
Characters (JS)
0
UTF-8 bytes
0
UTF-16 bytes
0
Code points
-
ASCII-safe?

Using the Character and Byte Counter

  1. Paste or type your text into the input field.
  2. Read the four counts: JS length, code points, UTF-8 bytes, graphemes.
  3. Try a compound emoji to see how the four counts differ.
  4. Use the UTF-8 byte count for database VARCHAR sizing.

String Length Calculator determines the precise size of your text across multiple encoding formats. Whether you need a character count for social media or a UTF-8 byte count for database constraints, this tool handles surrogate pairs and grapheme clusters correctly.

How the Text Length and Word Length Tool Works

This calculator shows all four measures simultaneously, providing a reliable byte counter for technical specifications. It accurately distinguishes between Unicode code points and user-perceived characters, handling complex cases like compound emoji and combining diacritics where standard JS length might fail.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my emoji count as 2, 4 or even 7 characters?

It depends on what you mean by "character". Most emoji outside the BMP take 2 UTF-16 code units (.length = 2) and 4 UTF-8 bytes. Compound emoji like 👩‍💻 use a zero-width joiner sequence and have a UTF-16 length of 5 but a grapheme count of 1.

What's the difference between code points and characters?

A code point is a Unicode value (like U+1F600 😀). A user-perceived character (a "grapheme cluster") may be made of several code points joined together - the family emoji 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 is one grapheme but seven code points.

Why are UTF-8 and UTF-16 byte counts different?

They're different encodings. UTF-8 uses 1–4 bytes per code point and is efficient for ASCII. UTF-16 uses 2 or 4 bytes per code point and is efficient for CJK. For "café" UTF-8 is 5 bytes, UTF-16 is 8 bytes.

Which length should I use for a database VARCHAR limit?

It depends on the column collation. PostgreSQL VARCHAR(n) counts code points; MySQL VARCHAR(n) with utf8mb4 counts code points but the row size limit is in bytes. Use the UTF-8 byte count for "will it fit in a fixed-size field?" questions.

Explore the full suite of Text tools and 290+ other free utilities at Chunky Munster with our String Length Calculator.

// deep diveRead the guide →