Free Meta Description Checker

Paste the description, or enter a public URL. Pasted text is measured in the browser as you type, and it is not uploaded. A URL is fetched on Posting Dude's server. The checker reads meta tags whose name is description, and Open Graph tags whose property or name is og:description. The address is not stored.

The fetch does not run JavaScript, and it does not load stylesheets or iframes. A description that exists only inside a script, a template, or a comment is not counted. The same is true of a description a script would write after the page loads. The response is read as HTML text.

The title tag is shown beside a fetched page so the search-result preview has a headline. This tool does not score the title. The meta title checker on this site is the title check.

Google Search Central's page "Control your snippets in search results" says there is no limit on how long a meta description can be. The same page says the snippet is truncated in Google Search results as needed, typically to fit the device width. It also says Google primarily uses the content on the page, and that it may use the meta description element when that element describes the page better than other content.

A snippet can change from one search to another. This preview answers a smaller question: if this description is the text in the result, where is a desktop or mobile line likely to cut it? Fitting the preview does not decide which sentence Google chooses.

The desktop estimate is about 920 pixels at 14px Arial. The mobile estimate is about 680 pixels at the same size. Under about 70 characters, the line looks thin next to a result that explains the page. Writers often aim near 160 characters. That range is a writing habit. It is not a number Google publishes.

“Paste a meta description. See character count, pixel width, and where a desktop snippet is likely to cut.” That sentence is about 115 characters. On this checker it should sit inside the desktop budget. Fitting the preview is not a ranking prediction, and Google may still write a different snippet.

Characters treat every letter as the same width. In a search result they are not. A description full of wide letters reaches the cutoff sooner than one of the same length made of narrow letters. The pixel meter is the truncation check. The character count shows whether the sentence is specific enough.

The preview cuts the string at the pixel budget and shows an ellipsis where the line is likely to stop. Read the desktop card and the mobile card separately. A phone column can drop the last clause even when the desktop meter still fits. These budgets match the description estimates on the meta title checker. They are not a live feed from Google.

A missing meta description means the HTML has no meta element whose name is description. An empty content attribute is reported as empty, not as a usable snippet. og:description is a separate tag. Google's snippet documentation describes the meta description element. This checker does not treat og:description as a substitute for that element. When both have text, it says whether they match.

More than one meta description on the same page is reported, including when the copies match and when they do not. The same check runs for og:description. Google's snippet page says identical or similar descriptions on every page of a site are not helpful when those pages appear in search results. This tool looks at the tags on the single page you paste or fetch. It does not compare one URL with another.

A plain-text response has no description tags. The checker says so instead of guessing a sentence from the words.

The fetch stops at 1.5 MB, follows at most 3 http or https redirects, and stops after 8 seconds. Iframes are not loaded. The response is not executed.

Local hosts, IP addresses, and private or link-local addresses, including 127.0.0.1 and 169.254.169.254, are refused before any request. A public name that resolves to a private address is refused as well. A redirect onto one of those addresses stops the check. The refused address returns HTTP 400 and is not fetched.

A description that fits can still be rewritten, and a description that is missing can still leave Google to choose a sentence from the page. The checker does not raise a ranking, earn a snippet, or win a citation in an assistant. Google's page also documents nosnippet, max-snippet, and data-nosnippet for sites that want to limit what is shown. This tool does not read those controls.

Use the preview to see whether the sentence still makes sense after the cut. Then look at the title, which is a different line from the description.

Google Search Central documents this on Control your snippets in search results. The meta title checker previews a title and a description together. The free tools index lists the other tools on this site. Pricing lists Launch at $249/mo and Studio at $399/mo, month to month. The why page covers what happens when distribution stops after launch day.