SQLite 3 reference · String Functions

SQLite OCTET_LENGTH() Function

Return the number of bytes a string takes in the database encoding (usually UTF-8), not the number of characters.

SQLite 3 Since 3.43.0

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Syntax

octet_length(X)

Parameter	Description
`X`	The string (other values are converted to text).

An integer, or NULL.

Bytes per stringTry it yourself

SELECT octet_length('abc') AS ascii, octet_length('naïve') AS utf8;

Output

ascii | utf8
3 | 6

Next to length()Try it yourself

SELECT name, length(name) AS chars, octet_length(name) AS bytes
FROM customers
WHERE customer_id = 1;

Output

name | chars | bytes
Ada Lovelace | 12 | 12

Version	Change
SQLite 3.43.0	Added

LENGTH() · Return the number of characters in a string, or the number of bytes in a BLOB. NULL gives NULL.
SQL String Functions · tutorial