Character Limits on Social Media in 2026: X, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube

Why Character Limits Matter

Every platform cuts your text at some point. Sometimes the post is simply refused ("too long"); more often, the text is truncated with a "…more" link, and most readers never click it. Knowing the limits — and above all the visible length before truncation — lets you put the essential message where people actually read it.

Character Limits by Platform

Platform	Field	Maximum
X (Twitter)	Post (free account)	280
Instagram	Caption	2,200
Instagram	Bio	150
Instagram	Hashtags per post	30
Facebook	Post	63,206
LinkedIn	Post	3,000
LinkedIn	Headline	220
TikTok	Caption	4,000
YouTube	Video title	100
YouTube	Description	5,000
Pinterest	Pin title	100
Threads	Post	500
Bluesky	Post	300

The Maximum Is Not the Ideal

What counts is what people see before the text is cut:

Platform	Visible before "…more"	Recommended length
Instagram caption	~125 characters	First line = the hook
LinkedIn post	~210 characters (2–3 lines)	Hook in the first 2 lines
Facebook post	~480 characters	40–80 characters perform best
YouTube title	~60–70 characters in search	Keyword at the start
X post	Whole post	70–110 characters get the most engagement

The rule is the same everywhere: the first line must make people want to read the rest.

SEO: Title and Meta Description

For a website, two lengths matter in Google results:

• Title tag: about 50–60 characters. Google actually cuts by pixel width (~580 px), so wide letters (W, M) count more than narrow ones (i, l).
• Meta description: about 150–160 characters on desktop, less on mobile. Google often rewrites it, but a good description improves the click rate.

Count Characters Live

The character counter shows the number of characters (with and without spaces), words, sentences, paragraphs and lines as you type, with a progress bar for each limit: X, Instagram bio, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube title and description, Google title and meta description.

It counts characters as people see them: an emoji or an accented letter counts as one character, not two or four. Words follow the rules of the language ("don't" counts as one word). Your text stays in your browser.

Tips for Writing Within the Limits

1. Write first, cut second: draft freely, then remove adverbs, repetitions and filler words.
2. Put the keyword at the start of titles: it stays visible even when truncated.
3. Use line breaks on LinkedIn and Instagram: they make the text airier (each break counts as a character).
4. Fix the case of a title written in all caps with the case converter — all caps reads as shouting.
5. Group hashtags at the end: 3 to 5 relevant hashtags work better than 30 generic ones.

Conclusion

Character limits aren't just a constraint — they force you to get to the point. Keep the table above handy, place your hook in the visible part, and check the length live before publishing.