How to Truncate Text by Characters or Words Online

To truncate text, paste it into a text-truncate tool, choose whether to limit by characters or by words, set your maximum, and copy the shortened result — optionally with an ellipsis and whole-words-only cutting for a clean finish. The whole thing runs in your browser and updates live as you adjust the limit.

Truncating means cutting text down to a fixed maximum length. It is the everyday task behind meta descriptions, card previews, and tweet-length blurbs. This tutorial covers each option so your shortened text looks intentional, not chopped.

Characters versus words: which limit to pick

The tool offers two modes, and choosing the right one matters:

Use characters when a hard maximum length is enforced somewhere — search snippets, form fields, SMS. Use words when you care about readability and a rough length, like a blog excerpt that should end at a natural point.

Step-by-step truncation

1. Paste the text you want to shorten into the input box. A live character and word count shows its current length.
2. Choose character or word mode and set the maximum you need.
3. Optionally add an ellipsis. Turn this on to append a … (or your own custom suffix) so readers can tell the text was cut.
4. Optionally enable whole-words-only. In character mode this backs the cut up to the previous space, so the last word is not chopped in the middle.
5. Copy or download the truncated result.

Because the length feedback is live, you can nudge the limit up or down and watch the output land exactly where you want before copying.

Getting clean, professional-looking cuts

Two settings do most of the polishing. The ellipsis signals intentional shortening — "Read the full guide to onboarding new…" reads far better than a sentence that stops mid-thought. The whole-words-only option prevents ugly breaks like "onboardin"; instead the cut retreats to the last complete word. Together they turn a raw character cut into something that looks hand-edited.

For meta descriptions specifically, aim for roughly 150–160 characters so search engines are less likely to truncate them further, and keep the ellipsis on for a tidy end.

Why it runs privately in your browser

All truncation happens locally with JavaScript, so the text you paste — drafts, unpublished copy, client headlines — is never uploaded to a server. It stays on your device and the tool keeps working offline once loaded, which is convenient when you are drafting on the move.

Try the Text Truncate tool — free and 100% in your browser.

FAQ

How do I truncate text to exactly 160 characters?

Choose character mode, set the maximum to 160, and the tool cuts at that length. Enable the ellipsis to mark the cut, and whole-words-only if you want it to end on a complete word.

What is the difference between truncating by words and by characters?

Word mode stops after a set number of words, which keeps sentences readable; character mode enforces a strict length in characters, which is what fields and search snippets require.

Can I use my own symbol instead of the … ellipsis?

Yes. The ellipsis suffix is customisable, so you can append "…", " (more)", " →", or any short marker you prefer when text is cut.

Does the character count include the ellipsis?

The live count reflects the truncated output. Keep your target slightly under a hard limit if you are adding a suffix, so the ellipsis does not push you over.

Related free tools

• Character Counter — check exact lengths before and after truncating.
• Word Counter — count words for excerpt targets.
• Word Wrap — wrap text to a fixed column width.
• Remove Extra Spaces — tidy text before shortening it.

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