Title & Description Checker
Check meta tag character limits for SEO
Title & Description Checker tool
Title & Description Checker: key facts
- What it does
- Check meta tag character limits for SEO
- Category
- SEO Tools
- Cost
- Free, with no account, sign-up, or install.
- Your data
- Runs entirely in your browser — the files and text you enter are never uploaded to a server.
- Last reviewed
- . Report an incorrect result.
What the Title & Description Checker does
Search engines cut off titles and descriptions that run too long, and they measure by pixel width, not just character count — so a title full of wide letters can be truncated sooner than the character count suggests. This checker measures both: it counts characters and calculates the actual pixel width, then shows a truncated preview of how your snippet will appear.
SEOs and writers use it to make every title and description display in full. By measuring real rendered width with the same approach a browser uses, it catches cases that a simple character counter misses, and color-coded status makes it obvious when you are within range, close to the limit, or over.
Using the Title & Description Checker, step by step
- Choose your target search engine.
- Enter your title tag and watch the character count, pixel width, and status update live.
- Enter your meta description and check the same metrics against its limits.
- Read the truncated preview and the suggestions, then copy your finalized text.
Characters and pixels, across engines
The tool checks a title and description against both a character count and a pixel-width budget, for several engines. The character limits are 60 and 160; the pixel budgets are roughly 600 and 920. Reporting both matters because they disagree, and the pixel figure is the one search engines actually apply.
Width depends on which characters you use. Capital letters, and letters like W and M, are considerably wider than i, l, or t, so two titles of identical length can render at noticeably different widths. A title in title case runs wider than the same words in sentence case.
Google, Bing, and Yahoo currently sit at similar limits, which is why the figures are close across engines. They are not identical historically and they change, so a small margin below the limit is more robust than sitting exactly on it.
- A 58-character title of mostly lowercase text fits comfortably inside the pixel budget.
- The same 58 characters in capitals can exceed it, because every glyph is wider.
- A description at 155 characters is safe; at 170 the closing phrase is lost.
What makes this one worth using
- It measures actual pixel width using the font metrics a browser renders, catching truncation that a character count alone would miss.
- It checks both title and description against character and pixel limits, with color-coded status from optimal to over.
- A truncated preview shows exactly where the text would be cut, and suggestions advise when to shorten.
- All measurement happens locally with no account.
Writing for the space you have
Put the distinctive information first. Whatever gets truncated is what you were least attached to, so a title that opens with a brand name spends its most visible characters on the word a reader already knows. Brand at the end, separated by a pipe or dash, is the conventional order for good reason.
Uniqueness across a site matters as much as length. Duplicate titles and descriptions across many pages are a genuine problem — they make results indistinguishable and signal templated content — which is why generating them from page data rather than writing one for a whole section is worth the effort. An empty description is generally better than a duplicated one, since Google will generate something query-relevant instead.
Two further notes. Titles are truncated in the browser tab too, and the first 15 to 20 characters are what a reader with many tabs open actually sees. And the character budget is consumed by any separator and brand suffix you append automatically, so check the assembled result rather than the part you typed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why measure pixels instead of just characters?
Search engines truncate by the rendered width of the text, and characters vary in width — a "w" is far wider than an "i". Two titles with the same character count can truncate differently, so pixel width is a more accurate guide to what will actually display.
What are the recommended limits?
As a guide, titles fit comfortably within about 60 characters (around 600 pixels) and descriptions within about 160 characters (around 920 pixels). The checker flags you as you approach and exceed these thresholds.
Do different search engines have different limits?
In practice the major engines truncate at similar lengths, and this tool applies the same widely used limits across the engine options. Optimizing for the common thresholds keeps your snippet readable across Google, Bing, and others.
What happens if my title or description is too long?
The search engine cuts it off, usually with an ellipsis, so the end of your text is hidden from searchers. Front-load the important words and keep within the limits so your full message — and any call to action — stays visible.
