Platform Limits Cheat Sheet (2026)
| Platform | Limit | Worth knowing |
|---|
| X (Twitter) post | 280 | URLs always count as 23; Premium up to 25,000 |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 | only ~125 chars show before "…more" |
| Instagram bio | 150 | — |
| TikTok caption | 4,000 | hashtags count toward the limit |
| YouTube title | 100 | ~70 visible in search results |
| YouTube description | 5,000 | first ~157 chars appear in search |
| Facebook post | 63,206 | truncated at ~477 in feed |
| LinkedIn post | 3,000 | fold at ~210 characters |
| WhatsApp status | 700 | — |
| SMS (GSM) | 160 | drops to 70/segment with any emoji |
Platforms change limits occasionally; figures reflect commonly published values as of 2026. The "visible before fold" numbers matter more than the hard caps — front-load your key message.
Counting Rules That Trip People Up
- Emoji ≠ 1 character. Platforms count code points: 👍 is usually 2, and joined emoji like 👨👩👧 can be 8+. Both raw and weighted counts are shown above.
- X counts every URL as 23 characters via its t.co shortener — a 200-character link costs the same as a short one.
- Line breaks count as characters on every platform.
- Hashtags count toward caption limits everywhere.
Need full word/sentence stats? Use the Word Counter. Checking how readable your post is? Try the Readability Checker.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many characters can an X (Twitter) post have?
280 for standard accounts (Premium up to 25,000). URLs count as 23 no matter their length; emoji typically count as 2.
What is the Instagram caption limit?
2,200 characters with up to 30 hashtags — but only ~125 characters show before "…more", so lead with the message. Bio: 150.
Why do emoji count as more than one character?
Platforms count Unicode code points and many emoji are several joined code points (skin tones, flags, families). 👍 ≈ 2, 👨👩👧 ≈ 8+.
How long can an SMS be?
160 characters in GSM mode; a single emoji switches the message to Unicode and the limit drops to 70 per segment.