Character Count for Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and More
Every social media platform has its own character limit. Here is a complete guide to character counts for every major platform, and how to check yours free online.
You wrote the perfect caption. Then the platform cut it off.
You spent time getting the wording just right. The right tone, the right message, the right call to action. You paste it into Instagram, hit post, and realise it got cut off mid-sentence in the preview.
Or you write a tweet, hit send, and get a red character counter telling you that you are 47 characters over the limit.
Every social media platform has its own character limit, and they are all different. What works on LinkedIn is too long for Twitter. What is fine for a Facebook post gets truncated on Instagram. Writing copy for multiple platforms without knowing these limits means constant editing and frustration.
This guide gives you every limit in one place, explains what actually happens when you go over, and shows you how to check your character count before posting.
Why do character limits exist?
Each platform sets limits for different reasons.
Twitter (now X) built its 280-character limit around the idea of short, scannable messages. The original 140-character limit came from SMS text message constraints. It was doubled in 2017, but the short-form DNA of the platform remains.
Instagram does not have a hard character limit on captions in the same way, but captions are cut off in the feed after a certain point, hiding the rest behind a "more" tap. Most users never tap. What shows in the preview is what most people read.
LinkedIn caters to professional content that is often longer. Its limits are generous compared to other platforms, but they still exist and posts that go over the display limit get truncated in feeds.
SMS is the tightest constraint of all, rooted in technical limits of the original mobile messaging protocol.
Knowing where each platform cuts off helps you write copy that fits cleanly the first time.
Complete character count guide for every major platform
Twitter / X
| Content Type | Character Limit |
|---|---|
| Tweet | 280 characters |
| Tweet (Premium / X Blue subscribers) | Up to 25,000 characters |
| Direct message | 10,000 characters |
| Username | 15 characters |
| Display name | 50 characters |
| Bio | 160 characters |
The 280-character limit applies to the visible text of a tweet. URLs are counted as 23 characters regardless of their actual length. Images, videos, and polls attached to a tweet do not count toward the character limit.
The most important number to remember: 280 characters for a standard tweet.
| Content Type | Character / Display Limit |
|---|---|
| Caption (total allowed) | 2,200 characters |
| Caption shown before "more" tap | 125 characters |
| Username | 30 characters |
| Bio | 150 characters |
| Story text | No hard limit, but long text gets small |
| Hashtags per post | 30 maximum |
Instagram allows up to 2,200 characters in a caption, but almost nobody reads past the first 125 characters in their feed. The caption is cut off there with a "more" link that most users never tap.
This makes the first 125 characters of your Instagram caption the most critical. Your hook, your key message, or your call to action needs to land within that window if you want most of your audience to see it.
| Content Type | Character Limit |
|---|---|
| Post (feed update) | 3,000 characters |
| Post shown before "see more" | 210 characters |
| Article (long form) | 125,000 characters |
| Article headline | 150 characters |
| Profile headline | 220 characters |
| Profile summary (About) | 2,600 characters |
| Comment | 1,250 characters |
| Company page description | 2,000 characters |
LinkedIn posts allow up to 3,000 characters, but the feed shows only around 210 characters before hiding the rest behind a "see more" link. Posts that perform well on LinkedIn typically lead with a strong first two lines that make people want to tap "see more."
| Content Type | Character Limit |
|---|---|
| Personal post | 63,206 characters |
| Page post | 63,206 characters |
| Post shown in feed (approximate) | 477 characters |
| Comment | 8,000 characters |
| Group post | 63,206 characters |
| Event description | 63,206 characters |
| Page name | 75 characters |
| Page description | 255 characters |
Facebook is the most generous platform for post length. In practice though, posts get truncated in feeds at around 477 characters with a "see more" link. Longer posts tend to perform worse in the algorithm because they signal lower engagement relative to views.
YouTube
| Content Type | Character Limit |
|---|---|
| Video title | 100 characters (70 shown in search) |
| Video description | 5,000 characters |
| Description shown without expanding | First 157 characters |
| Channel description | 1,000 characters |
| Comment | 10,000 characters |
| Tag per video | 30 characters |
| All tags combined | 400 characters |
YouTube titles are cut off in search results at around 70 characters. Writing your title to land the key message within the first 60-70 characters ensures it displays fully in search and recommended video panels.
| Content Type | Character Limit |
|---|---|
| Text message | 65,536 characters |
| Status update | 700 characters |
| Group description | 512 characters |
| Group name | 25 characters |
| Profile name | 25 characters |
| Profile bio | 139 characters |
WhatsApp messages can be extremely long, but Status updates are capped at 700 characters. Profiles and group names have tight limits worth knowing.
SMS / Text Message
| Content Type | Character Limit |
|---|---|
| Standard SMS | 160 characters |
| SMS with Unicode characters (emoji, non-Latin) | 70 characters per segment |
| Long SMS (multiple segments) | Concatenated but counted per segment |
Standard SMS allows 160 characters. The moment you add an emoji or a character outside the standard Latin alphabet, the limit drops to 70 characters per message segment. A 160-character message with a single emoji becomes a multi-part message, which costs more with some carriers and may display oddly on some phones.
TikTok
| Content Type | Character Limit |
|---|---|
| Video caption | 2,200 characters |
| Caption shown without expanding | 100 characters |
| Bio | 80 characters |
| Comment | 150 characters |
| Username | 24 characters |
TikTok captions show only the first 100 characters before hiding the rest. Given how quickly users scroll through TikTok, the first line of your caption is all most viewers will ever see.
| Content Type | Character Limit |
|---|---|
| Pin title | 100 characters |
| Pin description | 500 characters |
| Board name | 50 characters |
| Board description | 500 characters |
| Profile bio | 160 characters |
Pinterest descriptions are used for search within the platform. Writing keyword-rich descriptions up to 500 characters helps your pins get discovered.
How to check your character count before posting
The fastest way is to use the Word Counter on EasyQuickTool.
Paste your caption, tweet, bio, or post copy into the tool. It instantly shows you:
- Character count with spaces
- Character count without spaces
- Word count
- Reading time
No sign-up, no app, no character limit on the tool itself. Works on any device in any browser.
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Try Image CompressorThe most important character limits to memorise
If you only remember a few numbers, make them these:
- Twitter / X: 280 characters per tweet
- Instagram caption preview: 125 characters (first line is everything)
- LinkedIn feed preview: 210 characters before "see more"
- SMS: 160 characters (70 with emoji)
- Instagram bio: 150 characters
- Twitter bio: 160 characters
- YouTube title (visible in search): 70 characters
A tip that saves time across all platforms
Write your core message first. Get it under 125 characters. Then expand it with supporting detail for platforms that allow more. This approach means your key message fits the tightest platform (Instagram preview) and works on every other platform too.
Starting short and expanding is much faster than writing long and cutting back down.
Check your character count now, free
Try this tool now
Launch the tool used in this guide and finish the task instantly.
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