Character Limits for Every Social Media Platform in 2026
Know the Limits Before You Publish
Every social media platform enforces character limits on posts, bios, captions, and other text fields. Exceeding these limits means truncated content, failed posts, or wasted editing time. This reference covers the current limits for every major platform so you can write right-sized content from the start.
Platform Character Limits
Twitter / X
| Field | Character Limit |
|---|---|
| Tweet (free accounts) | 280 |
| Tweet (X Premium) | 25,000 |
| Reply | Same as tweet |
| Bio | 160 |
| Display name | 50 |
| DM | 10,000 |
Twitter counts characters, not bytes. Emojis generally count as 2 characters each due to Unicode surrogate pairs. URLs are automatically shortened to 23 characters regardless of original length.
| Field | Character Limit |
|---|---|
| Caption | 2,200 |
| Bio | 150 |
| Username | 30 |
| Hashtag | 30 (per tag, including #) |
| DM | 1,000 |
| IGTV description | 2,200 |
Instagram captions truncate in the feed after approximately 125 characters with a "more" link. Put your hook in those first two lines.
| Field | Character Limit |
|---|---|
| Post | 3,000 |
| Article body | 120,000 |
| Article headline | 150 |
| About section | 2,600 |
| Post comment | 1,250 |
| Connection note | 300 |
| Company page about | 2,000 |
LinkedIn posts over 150 characters get a "see more" truncation in the feed. The first 150 characters are critical for engagement.
| Field | Character Limit |
|---|---|
| Post | 63,206 |
| Post (optimal for engagement) | 40-80 |
| Comment | 8,000 |
| Bio | 101 |
| Page description | 255 |
| Group description | 3,000 |
Facebook allows very long posts, but engagement data consistently shows that shorter posts (under 80 characters) perform better. The platform truncates posts after approximately 130–150 characters with a "see more" prompt.
TikTok
| Field | Character Limit |
|---|---|
| Caption | 2,200 |
| Bio | 80 |
| Username | 24 |
| Comment | 150 |
| DM | 4,096 |
TikTok captions display only the first 100–150 characters before the "more" button. Front-load your hashtags and key message.
YouTube
| Field | Character Limit |
|---|---|
| Title | 100 |
| Description | 5,000 |
| Channel description | 1,000 |
| Comment | 10,000 |
| Playlist title | 60 |
| Playlist description | 200 |
YouTube truncates titles in search results after roughly 60 characters and descriptions after approximately 157 characters. Only the first three lines of a description are visible without clicking "show more."
Quick Reference Table
| Platform | Post Limit | Bio Limit | Feed Truncation |
|---|---|---|---|
| X (free) | 280 | 160 | Full |
| 2,200 | 150 | ~125 chars | |
| 3,000 | 2,600 | ~150 chars | |
| 63,206 | 101 | ~130 chars | |
| TikTok | 2,200 | 80 | ~120 chars |
| YouTube | 100 (title) | 1,000 | ~60 title |
Writing Strategies for Character Limits
Front-Load Important Content
Since every platform truncates in the feed, write your key message first:
❌ Hey everyone! So excited to share that we're launching a new feature today...
✅ NEW: AI-powered text analysis just launched. Try it free → link
Count Characters, Not Words
Character limits refer to characters, including spaces and punctuation. A 280-character tweet averages 40-50 words depending on word length.
Watch for Hidden Characters
- Emojis: 1-4 characters depending on the emoji and modifiers
- Line breaks: 1 character each
- URLs: 23 characters on X (auto-shortened), full length on other platforms
- Hashtags: count the
#symbol
Use a Counter Tool
Before publishing, verify your text against the platform limit. This is especially important for multi-platform campaigns where the same copy appears on different networks.
Key Takeaways
- Every platform has different limits for posts, bios, DMs, and comments
- Feed truncation happens well before the character limit — front-load your message
- X tweets are 280 characters (free), Instagram captions 2,200, LinkedIn posts 3,000
- Emojis and special characters may count differently than you expect
- Shorter posts often outperform longer ones on Facebook and LinkedIn
- Always verify character count before publishing across platforms
Try It Yourself
Count characters, words, and sentences instantly with our free Word Counter. Paste any text to see real-time stats including character count, word count, reading time, and more — all processed locally in your browser.