Free tool

Social media character counter

Paste your caption once and see it counted against every platform’s limit — plus the length that actually performs. No sign-up.

Quick answer Social media character limits in 2026 are 280 on X (Twitter), 500 on Threads, 2,200 on Instagram and TikTok, 3,000 on LinkedIn, 5,000 on YouTube, and 63,206 on Facebook. For engagement, aim well under the limit — the counter below shows each platform’s ideal length.

0 characters · 0 words
X / Twitter 0 / 280
Ideal: ≤ 240 — front-load the hook
Instagram 0 / 2,200
Ideal: 80–150 characters
LinkedIn 0 / 3,000
Ideal: 700–1,200 characters
Threads 0 / 500
Ideal: 280–400 — one paragraph
Facebook 0 / 63,206
Ideal: 300–500 (text-only)
TikTok 0 / 2,200
Ideal: ≤ 150 — keep the hook visible
YouTube 0 / 5,000
Ideal: keywords in the first 150

Character limits & ideal post length by platform (2026)

The limit is the hard ceiling each platform enforces. The ideal length is the engagement sweet-spot — the range that tends to perform best, drawn from the same per-platform rules our AI writer uses inside PersonaXpand. Hitting the limit is rarely the goal; hitting the sweet-spot is.

Platform Character limit Ideal length Hashtags
X / Twitter 280 ≤ 240 — front-load the hook 1–2
Instagram 2,200 80–150 characters up to 11
LinkedIn 3,000 700–1,200 characters 3–5
Threads 500 280–400 — one paragraph 0–1
Facebook 63,206 300–500 (text-only) 1–2
TikTok 2,200 ≤ 150 — keep the hook visible 3–5
YouTube 5,000 keywords in the first 150 3–5

Limits reflect what PersonaXpand enforces when it publishes to each platform. Ideal ranges are guidance, not hard caps — a strong post can run longer.

Character counters by platform

Why length matters more than the limit

Every platform truncates. Instagram hides everything after the first ~125 characters behind “more.” Facebook and LinkedIn collapse long posts behind “See more.” X shows one dense block. Writing to the ceiling buries your hook; writing to the sweet-spot keeps it visible — which is where reads, replies and reach come from.

One caption, every platform

Great posts rarely fit every network at the same length. A 1,000-character LinkedIn post is far too long for X and a touch long for Threads. That’s the whole idea behind PersonaXpand — write once, and it’s reshaped to the right length, tone and format for each platform, then auto-published on your schedule.

Character limit FAQs

What is the character limit on X (Twitter)?

X (formerly Twitter) allows 280 characters in a standard post. For engagement, keep it tighter — front-load your hook and aim for 240 or fewer so it reads as one sharp idea.

How long can an Instagram caption be?

Instagram allows up to 2,200 characters, but only the first ~125 show before the “more” cut. The engagement sweet-spot is 80–150 characters — say it before the fold.

What is the LinkedIn post character limit?

LinkedIn allows 3,000 characters. Posts of roughly 700–1,200 characters tend to perform best — long enough for a real point, short enough to keep people reading.

How many characters can a Threads post have?

Threads caps posts at 500 characters. One tight paragraph of 280–400 reads best and matches how the feed is skimmed.

What is the Facebook post character limit?

Facebook technically allows 63,206 characters, but text-only posts of 300–500 characters get the most engagement. Longer posts get truncated with a “See more”.

Do TikTok and YouTube have caption limits?

TikTok captions can be up to 2,200 characters and YouTube descriptions up to 5,000 — but put your hook and keywords in the first ~150 characters, since that is what shows and what search indexes.

Embed this character counter on your site

Free to use — paste this snippet where you want the tool to appear. A link back to PersonaXpand is included.

<iframe src="https://personaxpand.com/embed/character-counter" width="100%" height="640" style="border:0;max-width:520px" title="Social media character counter" loading="lazy"></iframe> <p><a href="https://personaxpand.com/tools/character-counter">Social media character counter</a> by PersonaXpand</p>

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