Reference · verified 15 September 2026

Social media character limits (2026)

Every platform’s character limit in one place, plus how much shows before it truncates, the length that actually performs, and a checker for your own caption. Verified against what PersonaXpand publishes.

Quick answer Per-post character limits in 2026: X (Twitter) 280 (25,000 with X Premium), Threads 500 (plus a 10,000-character text attachment), Instagram 2,200, TikTok 2,200 for a video caption, LinkedIn 3,000, YouTube 5,000 for a description, and Facebook 63,206. The ideal (best-performing) length is far lower, for example 80 to 150 on Instagram and 700 to 1,200 on LinkedIn. Full breakdown below, plus bio and username limits.

Platform Character limit Visible before “more” (approx.) Ideal length Hashtags Worth knowing
X / Twitter 280 280 (all shown) ≤ 240 — front-load the hook 1–2 25,000 with X Premium longer posts. Every link counts as 23.
Instagram 2,200 ~125 before “more” 80–150 characters up to 5 Hashtags are moving to 5 per post or Reel (announced December 2025). At most 20 @ tags.
LinkedIn 3,000 ~140 on mobile before “…see more” 700–1,200 characters 3–5 The 3,000 limit is stated in LinkedIn's own help pages.
Threads 500 500 (all shown) 280–400 — one paragraph 0–1 Plus an optional text attachment of up to 10,000 characters.
Bluesky 300 300 (all shown) — — Counted in graphemes, so a combined emoji counts as one.
Facebook 63,206 ~250 before “See more” 300–500 (text-only) 1–2 Meta publishes no post limit; 63,206 is the widely used figure.
TikTok 2,200 ~1 line over the video ≤ 150 — keep the hook visible 3–5 Video captions through the API: 2,200. Photo post descriptions: 4,000.
YouTube 5,000 ~157 (first lines of description) keywords in the first 150 3–5 The API counts 5,000 bytes, so non-English text fills it sooner.

Limits reflect what PersonaXpand enforces when it publishes to each platform. “Visible before more” and ideal ranges are approximate and shift with platform updates — this page is re-verified and date-stamped.

Bio, username and other character limits

Every figure here is stated on the platform’s own help or developer pages, and each one links to its source. Some limits people often quote, such as Instagram usernames and comments, LinkedIn headlines, TikTok bios and Facebook Page names, are not published by the platforms at all, so they are left out rather than guessed.

Platform Field Limit Source
Instagram Bio 150 help.instagram.com
Instagram Hashtags / @ tags per caption (posts published through apps) 30 / 20 developers.facebook.com
X (Twitter) Bio 160 help.x.com
X (Twitter) Username 15 help.x.com
X (Twitter) Display name 50 help.x.com
X (Twitter) Premium longer post 25,000 help.x.com
TikTok Nickname (display name) 30 support.tiktok.com
TikTok Video caption (via apps) 2,200 developers.tiktok.com
TikTok Photo post title / description 90 / 4,000 developers.tiktok.com
LinkedIn Custom profile URL 3 to 100 www.linkedin.com
YouTube Video title 100 support.google.com
YouTube Channel description 1,000 developers.google.com
YouTube Handle 3 to 30 support.google.com
Threads Text attachment 10,000 about.fb.com
Bluesky Display name 64 github.com
Bluesky Bio 256 github.com

Check your caption against every limit

Paste a draft to see it counted against each platform’s limit and engagement sweet-spot in real time.

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
Bluesky 0 / 300
Ideal: —
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

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Limit vs. ideal length: why the number that matters isn’t the maximum

A character limit is a hard ceiling. The length that actually earns reads and replies is almost always far below it. Instagram allows 2,200 characters but hides everything after ~125; LinkedIn allows 3,000 but posts of 700–1,200 perform best; Facebook allows 63,206 but collapses long posts behind “See more.” Write to the ideal length, not the ceiling, and your hook stays visible.

One idea, every platform

The same post rarely fits every network at the same length. That’s what PersonaXpand handles for you — write once, and each version is reshaped to the right length and format for every platform, then published on schedule.

Character limit FAQs

What are the social media character limits in 2026?
Per post: X (Twitter) 280 (25,000 with X Premium), Bluesky 300, Threads 500, Instagram 2,200, TikTok 2,200 for a video caption, LinkedIn 3,000, YouTube 5,000 for a description, and Facebook 63,206. The full table above also shows how much is visible before each platform truncates, and the length that performs best.

Can you post more than 280 characters on X?
Yes, with X Premium. Premium longer posts allow up to 25,000 characters. A free account stays at 280. X also counts every link as 23 characters and most emoji as 2, so a post that looks short can still hit the limit.

What is the TikTok caption limit?
A video caption posted through an app, including schedulers like PersonaXpand, is limited to 2,200 characters by TikTok's own API. Photo posts get a 90-character title and a description of up to 4,000 characters. You will often see 4,000 quoted for video captions typed in the TikTok app itself; TikTok's help pages don't state that figure, so if you schedule through any outside app, write to 2,200.

What changed in social media character limits recently?
Three changes catch people out. Instagram said in December 2025 that posts and Reels move to five hashtags, down from the 30 most guides still quote. Threads added an optional text attachment of up to 10,000 characters in September 2025, on top of the 500-character post. And X Premium longer posts run to 25,000 characters while accounts without Premium stay at 280. YouTube video titles remain 100 characters, not the 70 some older lists give.

Which platform has the shortest character limit?
X (Twitter) at 280 characters on a free account, followed by Bluesky at 300 and Threads at 500. All three reward brevity: one tight idea beats a padded post.

Which platform allows the most characters?
Facebook, at 63,206 characters by the widely used figure (Meta does not publish an official number). X Premium comes next at 25,000. On both, long posts collapse behind a “Show more” or “See more,” so the opening lines do the real work.

What is the ideal length versus the limit?
The limit is a hard ceiling; the ideal length is the engagement sweet-spot — e.g. 80–150 on Instagram, 700–1,200 on LinkedIn, 300–500 for a Facebook text post. Writing to the limit usually buries your hook.

Do character limits include hashtags, emojis and links?
Yes — hashtags, emojis and links all count toward the limit. On X, most emoji count as two characters and links are counted at a fixed length, so leave headroom.

Do emojis count as one character or multiple?
It depends on the emoji and the platform. Simple emoji often count as one, but plenty of them, especially skin-tone and combined emoji built from several code points, count as two or more, and X (Twitter) treats most emoji as two characters. Bluesky counts graphemes, so a combined emoji counts as one there. If you're close to a limit, assume emoji cost more than one and leave a little headroom.

What is the Instagram character limit for a caption and a bio?
An Instagram caption allows up to 2,200 characters and at most 20 @ tags, and your bio allows 150. Instagram said in December 2025 that captions for posts and Reels are moving to five hashtags; its developer documentation still lists 30 for posts published through outside apps. Instagram does not publish a limit for comments, usernames or display names, so this page leaves those out rather than repeat a guess.

What are the bio and username limits on each platform?
Where the platform publishes them: an Instagram bio is 150 characters; on X a bio is 160, a username 15 and a display name 50; a TikTok nickname is 30; a YouTube handle is 3 to 30; a LinkedIn custom profile URL is 3 to 100; a Bluesky display name is 64 and a bio 256. The table on this page links each figure to the platform's own page.

How often do these limits change?
Occasionally, when platforms update their apps. This page is generated from the same limits PersonaXpand enforces when it publishes your posts, and it carries the date the figures were last checked against each platform, shown at the top of the page.

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