Keep meta descriptions between 150–160 characters. Google displays up to ~920 pixels on desktop. Complete 2026 guide with SEO writing tips.
Published: April 2026 | Last Updated: April 2026
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Keep your meta description between 150–160 characters. Google displays up to approximately 920 pixels on desktop, which translates to roughly 155–160 characters.
| Context | Display Limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Google Desktop | ~920 pixels (~155–160 chars) | Primary display constraint |
| Google Mobile | ~680 pixels (~120 chars) | Shorter on mobile devices |
| Bing | ~160 characters | Similar to Google desktop |
| Social Sharing | Varies | og:description takes priority when set |
| HTML meta Tag | No hard limit | Display truncation is the practical constraint |
Paste your meta description into our free word counter tool to check the exact character count. A well-crafted description can significantly improve your click-through rate from search.
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Open Word CounterWhat is the meta description character limit?
There is no hard HTML limit for meta descriptions. Google displays approximately 920 pixels of description text on desktop (~155–160 characters) and around 680 pixels on mobile (~120 characters).
Does meta description length affect SEO?
Meta descriptions are not a direct ranking factor. However, compelling descriptions within the display limit improve click-through rates, which indirectly influences search rankings.
What happens if my meta description is too long?
Google will truncate it with an ellipsis (…). The cut-off content is invisible to searchers, so any call-to-action or key information past 160 characters may be lost.
Can Google ignore my meta description?
Yes. Google generates its own snippet from page content in roughly 60–70% of cases, especially if it finds text that better matches the specific search query.
Should every page have a unique meta description?
Yes. Duplicate meta descriptions across pages miss the opportunity to write targeted copy for each page's specific audience and keywords.
The sources and check dates in this table come from one versioned data file — the place we record every check we make. The rest of this page, and the limits built into our tools, are still separate copies, so when we correct a figure we correct it in each place. This table is how we keep ourselves honest while we do.
Some figures on this page have been checked against the platform's own documentation — those show a source and the date we checked. The rest came across from our older pages and haven't been checked yet, so they say so. We'd rather show you which is which than print a date we haven't earned.
Still to be checked against: Google Search Central documentation (developers.google.com/search) — "Control your snippets in search results"
| Field | Limit | Notes | Source | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Desktop | ~920 pixels (~155–160 chars) | IMPORTANT FRAMING, verified 2026-09-19: pixel-width truncation in practice, not a hard character cap. Google's docs state there is no fixed length limit and that snippets are "primarily created from the page content itself" — Google frequently writes its own snippet instead of using the meta description tag at all. The only levers a site owner actually controls are the nosnippet and max-snippet:[number] meta directives, not a length the author sets directly. The "~920px (~155-160 chars)" figure is a third-party rule of thumb, not a Google-published number. | https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/snippet | 2026-09-19 |
| Google Mobile | ~680 pixels (~120 chars) | Shorter on mobile devices. Checked 2026-09-19 against Google Search Central — Google's docs make NO device-specific numeric distinction at all ("typically to fit the device width" is the only guidance, desktop and mobile alike). The "~680px (~120 chars)" figure has no Google source found — it is third-party-only. Flagged as unconfirmed folklore, not merely unsourced. | No source recorded | Not yet verified against the platform’s own documentation |
| Bing | ~160 characters | Similar to Google desktop (not reached in the 2026-09-19 verification pass) | No source recorded | Not yet verified against the platform’s own documentation |
| Social Sharing | Varies | og:description takes priority when set (not reached in the 2026-09-19 verification pass) | No source recorded | Not yet verified against the platform’s own documentation |
| HTML meta Tag | No hard limit | Display truncation is the practical constraint | https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/snippet | 2026-09-19 |
| Recommended minimum (tool threshold) | 150 | Threshold hard-coded in the Meta Length Checker; not published on the reference page. | No source recorded | Not yet verified against the platform’s own documentation |
| Recommended maximum (tool threshold) | 160 | Threshold hard-coded in the Meta Length Checker. | No source recorded | Not yet verified against the platform’s own documentation |
| Pixel limit used by the tool | 920 pixels | The checker estimates pixel width from a per-character constant; that constant is itself unsourced. | No source recorded | Not yet verified against the platform’s own documentation |