Developer Playground
Byte Counter (UTF-8)
You can check the length and UTF-8 byte size of the entered string.
String Input
Results
About UTF-8 Byte Counting
UTF-8 is a variable-width character encoding that uses between 1 and 4 bytes per character. ASCII characters (0-127) use 1 byte, while other characters may use 2-4 bytes depending on their Unicode code point.
Why count bytes instead of characters?
In modern programming and database design, the number of characters in a string does not always equal the number of bytes it occupies. For example, standard English letters (ASCII) take 1 byte each, but characters in Korean, Japanese, Chinese, or Emojis can take 3 to 4 bytes each in UTF-8 encoding.
When is this useful?
This tool is essential for developers designing database schemas (like VARCHAR lengths in MySQL), configuring message brokers (like Kafka payload limits), or building APIs with strict payload size restrictions. Knowing the exact UTF-8 byte size helps prevent unexpected truncation errors and Data too long for column exceptions.
How to use this Byte Counter
Simply type or paste your text into the Input box. The tool will automatically calculate both the standard character length and the precise UTF-8 byte size in real-time. No clicking required!