Social Media Character Counter
Type once, check every platform: live counts against the real limits for X, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube — including the truncation folds that matter more than the hard caps. Free, no signup.
| Platform | Hard limit | Visible fold | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| X post | 280 | — | 280 for free accounts; Premium up to 25,000 but truncates in feed. URLs count as 23. |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 | ~125 | Max 30 hashtags; first ~125 chars show before “…more”. |
| Instagram bio | 150 | 150 | One link field separate from the bio text. |
| LinkedIn post | 3,000 | ~210 | ~210 chars (about 3 lines) show before “…see more”. |
| Facebook post | 63,206 | ~477 | Posts under 80 chars historically earn more engagement. |
| TikTok caption | 4,000 | ~100 | Long captions bury the video; hashtags count against the limit. |
| Pinterest description | 500 | ~100 | First ~100 chars show in feed; keywords, not hashtags. |
| YouTube title | 100 | ~70 | Search results truncate around 70 characters. |
Hard limits vs the visible fold
Every platform has two numbers that matter: the hard limit (where the platform stops accepting characters) and the visible fold (where the feed truncates your text behind “…more”). Writers obsess over the first and lose engagement to the second. An Instagram caption can run 2,200 characters, but only ~125 render in the feed — if the hook isn't inside those, the rest may as well not exist.
Worked example: take the post “We just opened Saturday appointments — book this week and your first detail is 20% off. Link in bio.” That's 108 characters: fully visible on Instagram (fits the ~125 fold), comfortably inside X's 280, and on LinkedIn it shows whole without a “…see more” break. The same message padded to 400 characters would truncate on all three — same content, worse odds, purely because of where the folds sit.
Two counting quirks worth knowing: X counts every URL as 23 characters regardless of its real length (a t.co wrapper), and emoji often count as two characters on X while counting as one visually everywhere — this counter counts them the way you see them, so leave a little slack when an X post full of emoji sits near 280.
Frequently asked questions
What is the character limit on X in 2026?
280 characters for standard accounts. X Premium raises the cap to 25,000, but anything past the first ~280 collapses behind “Show more” in the feed — long posts are for readers you already have, not for reach.
How many characters show before Instagram's “…more”?
About 125, and fewer if line breaks arrive early. Put the hook — the reason to tap — in the first sentence, and treat everything after the fold as bonus detail for people already interested.
Do hashtags count toward the character limit?
Yes on every major platform — hashtags are ordinary text to the counter. On X especially, three long hashtags can eat 60+ of your 280 characters, which is one reason X culture settled on 0–2 tags.
Why do links count as 23 characters on X?
X wraps every URL in its t.co shortener, which has a fixed 23-character length — a 200-character link and a 15-character link cost the same. Budget 24 (link + space) when composing near the cap.
Is shorter always better?
No — it's platform-dependent. Short punchy posts win on X and Facebook; LinkedIn rewards substantive posts (600–1,200 characters) as long as the first three lines earn the click; Pinterest descriptions work as keyword-rich sentences. Fit the platform, not a universal rule.
Do emoji count as one character or two?
Visually one, technically often two or more code units — X counts most emoji as two. If your emoji-heavy X draft reads 275 here, assume it may register a few characters higher on the platform and trim to be safe.
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