text tool
Meta title length checker
Type a title tag and a meta description, and each is measured in characters against 60 and 160 and in pixels at the font size search results use. A desktop and a mobile preview show where each one would most likely be cut.
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- Runs on your device, nothing is uploaded
- Free, no sign in
- No watermark, no file limit
How it works
- 1
Type the title
Two meters under the Title tag box fill as you type: characters against 60 and pixel width against 600.
- 2
Type the description
The Meta description box gets the same two meters, against 160 characters and 920 pixels.
- 3
Check both previews
The desktop and mobile previews cut the text where it would likely be shortened, and the line above them says where.
- 4
Copy the tags
Copy the two HTML tags gives you the title and meta description elements, escaped and ready to paste into a page.
Why pixels, not just characters
A results page has a fixed width for each title, and letters are not all the same width. In Arial, a capital W is more than three times as wide as a lower case i, so a title of 60 characters in capitals and wide letters can run past the edge while 70 narrow characters fit. That is why the checker measures both. The pixel width is taken by drawing your text with Arial at 20 px for the title and 14 px for the description, the sizes desktop results commonly use, and comparing it with about 600 px and 920 px.
Where 60 and 160 come from
Google publishes no character limit. Its guidance on title links says there is no limit on how long a title element can be, and that the title link is truncated as needed, typically to fit the device width; its snippet guidance says the same of meta descriptions. The 60 and 160 figures are the rule of thumb that falls out of those widths for typical text. They are useful because they are safe: a title under 60 characters fits on desktop in almost every case, whatever its letters. When the character meter and the pixel meter disagree, the verdict line says so.
Desktop and mobile cut in different places
On desktop a title sits on one line and is cut with an ellipsis at the last whole word that fits. On a phone the column is narrower but the title may wrap onto a second line, so a title that is cut on desktop can show in full on mobile, and the other way round for a very long one. The mobile preview wraps the title in a 330 px column at 18 px and cuts it after two lines. Descriptions are cut by total length, about 920 px of text on desktop and about 680 px on a phone.
Put the important words first
Whatever the device, the start of a title is always shown. Lead with the words someone searched for, and put the brand or site name at the end, after a separator, where losing it to the ellipsis costs little. The same applies to descriptions: the first 120 characters carry the most weight because they survive on every screen. Use the preview to read the title as a searcher would see it, cut and all, and check it still says what the page is.
Limits worth knowing
Pixel widths approximate Google's rendering; the character caps are the safe rule. Font rendering differs a little between systems, so widths here can be a few pixels off what a results page draws. Search engines also rewrite titles they find inaccurate, repetitive or unhelpful, and often write their own snippet from the page text, so a perfect fit is a strong hint rather than a guarantee. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is stored, ever.
Limits
- Pixel widths approximate Google's rendering; the character caps are the safe rule.
- Widths are measured with the Arial on your device. A computer without Arial measures a substitute font and can be off by a few pixels.
- The mobile preview assumes a 330 px column with a title of up to two lines at 18 px and about 680 px of description, which matches common phones but not every one.
- A search engine may rewrite a title or description, or build the snippet from the page instead. No preview can predict that.
What it does not do
- It does not look up a live page or what Google currently shows for it.
- It does not judge whether the title is good, only whether it fits.
- It does not upload or store what you type.
Questions people ask
Why does Google show a different title from my title tag?
Google builds title links from several sources: the title element, the main heading on the page, other prominent text and links pointing at the page. Its list of common causes includes half-empty titles, obsolete or inaccurate ones, and the same boilerplate repeated across many pages. Keeping the title concise, unique per page and close to the main heading makes a rewrite less likely.
Do emojis and symbols count as one character?
Here, yes: each emoji or accented letter is counted as one character, the way a reader sees it. Some tools count the code units underneath and report two or more for one emoji. Width is what matters on screen, though, and an emoji is usually wider than a letter, so watch the pixel meter rather than the character count when a title uses them.
Is a longer title bad for rankings?
Google's documentation does not describe title length as a ranking factor. A long title is a presentation problem: the end is cut off, and a title that is cut off reads worse in the results. Google also advises against unnecessarily long or verbose titles. Write the title for the person choosing between results, and keep the essential words inside the first 60 characters.
Should the meta description include the target keyword?
It helps a reader more than it helps a ranking. When a description contains the words someone searched for, results pages often show those words in bold, which draws the eye and confirms the page matches. Write it as a one or two sentence summary of what the page offers, with the main phrase used naturally once, rather than a list of keywords.
What happens if I leave the meta description empty?
The search engine writes a snippet itself, usually from text on the page that matches the search. That is not always worse; for long pages it can pick a more relevant passage than a fixed description. For pages where the opening text is navigation, a cookie notice or boilerplate, a written description gives you control over what appears under the title.
Write the page behind the title
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Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .