---
title: "Word And Character Count In Airtable | Airtable Support "
slug: "word-and-character-counts"
updated: 2025-05-01T18:47:29Z
published: 2025-05-01T18:47:29Z
stale: true
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.airtable.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Word and character count in Airtable

You can use a formula field to count the number of words, or characters, in another field, and even display a customized message depending on the length.

## Introduction

| [**Plan availability**](https://airtable.com/pricing) | All plan types |
| --- | --- |
| **Platform(s)** | Web/Browser, Mac app, and Windows app |
| **Related reading** | - [Getting started with formulas](/docs/getting-started-with-formulas) |

## Counting characters in Airtable

Let's say that you have a base setup to track content, and want to make sure you don't exceed a character limit. You can use a formula like the following to output the character count of the text field:

```plaintext
LEN({Long Text})
```

Note that `{Long Text}` is the name of our field in the table below— you will need to input the name of **your** text field if you copy this formula.

![Screen Shot 2019-09-04 at 5.54.39 PM](https://cdn.airtable.document360.io/d0ee2ee4-3f78-47c7-b388-85e40be9fb89/Images/Documentation/Screen%20Shot%202019-09-04%20at%205.54.39%20PM.jpg)

## Displaying messages based on character count in Airtable

Now, let's say that you're not so interested in the exact character count, but more so that you're under a character limit. Here's an example of an [IF statement](/docs/comparing-text-strings-using-if-statements) you can write to check for this and output a message depending on the character count:

```plaintext
IF(LEN({Long Text})>280, "❌Over Limit", "✅Under Limit")
```

​

![Screen Shot 2019-09-04 at 5.58.16 PM](https://cdn.airtable.document360.io/d0ee2ee4-3f78-47c7-b388-85e40be9fb89/Images/Documentation/Screen%20Shot%202019-09-04%20at%205.58.16%20PM.jpg)

Using this formula, you'll see either ❌ **Over Limit** or ✅ **Under Limit** for each record depending on the character count in the field your formula is watching.

![Screen Shot 2019-09-04 at 5.59.28 PM](https://cdn.airtable.document360.io/d0ee2ee4-3f78-47c7-b388-85e40be9fb89/Images/Documentation/Screen%20Shot%202019-09-04%20at%205.59.28%20PM.jpg)

**Note:** `{Long Text}` is the name of our field in the table above— you will need to input the name of **your** text field if you copy this formula.

## Counting words in Airtable

For a different workflow, you may be writing editorial content and want to ensure your articles don't exceed a certain word count. You can use a similar formula to count the number of spaces in a text field, which in turn will give you a total count of words.

```plaintext
IF({Text Field}=BLANK(), 0, LEN({Text Field}) - LEN(SUBSTITUTE({Text Field}, ' ', ''))+1)
```

![Screen Shot 2019-09-04 at 5.47.31 PM](https://cdn.airtable.document360.io/d0ee2ee4-3f78-47c7-b388-85e40be9fb89/Images/Documentation/Screen%20Shot%202019-09-04%20at%205.47.31%20PM.jpg)

**Note:** `{Text Field}` is the name of our field in the table above— you will need to input the name of **your** text field if you copy this formula.