Word count measures how many words appear in a text, while character count measures individual characters. They answer different questions and should not be treated as interchangeable limits.
When word count matters
Essays, articles, assignments and long-form content often use word limits. A word counter can also provide sentence, paragraph and reading-time statistics.
When character count matters
Forms, social posts, titles and descriptions may have character limits. In those situations, use a Character Counter to see the exact length.
A simple workflow
Draft naturally first, then measure the text. If it exceeds the limit, edit for clarity rather than deleting random words just to hit a number.