Meta Description Length Checker
Paste one description per line and get pixel widths against the desktop and mobile cutoffs, character guidance, and a fill bar for each. Write once, fit everywhere.
Blank lines are ignored. Everything runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded.
Pixels and characters, both checked
Google truncates descriptions by rendered pixel width, around 920 pixels on desktop and around 680 pixels on mobile at 14px Arial, which is what this tool measures on a canvas. Character count still matters as a writing guide: 70 to 155 characters is the reliable sweet spot, 156 to 165 is living dangerously, and anything past 165 or under 70 gets flagged. A description can pass the character check and still truncate on mobile, which is why each row shows both pills.
Writing descriptions that earn the click
- Front-load the payoff. The first 100 characters survive every device, so the core promise belongs there, not at the end.
- Include the query. Google bolds matched terms in the snippet, and a description that echoes the searcher's words reads as the answer.
- End with value, not ellipsis-bait. A trailing "find out how..." reads as filler. State the concrete benefit and stop; a complete sentence outperforms a manufactured cliffhanger.
- Write one per page. Duplicated descriptions are the fastest route to Google rewriting all of them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ideal meta description length in 2026?
Aim for 70 to 155 characters, which lands around 430 to 920 pixels at the 14px Arial font Google renders on desktop. Under 70 characters wastes the slot and invites a rewrite; over about 165 characters almost always truncates on desktop and truncates even earlier on mobile, where the budget is closer to 680 pixels.
Why does Google rewrite my description?
Google replaces the meta description for a majority of queries when it finds page text it considers a better match for the search. Descriptions that are too long, too generic, duplicated across pages, or unrelated to the query get swapped most often. A specific, accurate description that mirrors the queries the page ranks for survives far more.
Do meta descriptions affect rankings?
No, not directly. Google has confirmed the description is not a ranking signal. It absolutely affects click-through rate though: a compelling, query-matching description wins clicks from positions that a generic one loses, and that traffic difference is the whole point of writing it well.
Is anything I paste here uploaded?
No. All measurement happens in your browser using the canvas text API. Nothing is sent to a server, stored, or logged, so bulk-checking client descriptions before launch is safe.