Social Media Character Limits 2026: Complete Platform Guide

Social media platforms each have their own character limits that determine how much text you can include in posts, bios, comments, and messages. Knowing these limits helps you craft more effective content and avoid frustrating truncation.

This guide covers all major social media platforms with their current character limits for 2026, including recent changes and platform-specific tips.

Quick Reference Table

Here's a complete overview of character limits across all major social platforms:

Twitter / X Character Limits

Twitter (now X) is known for its concise format. Here are the current limits:

• Standard posts: 280 characters
• Premium posts: Up to 25,000 characters
• Bio: 160 characters
• Display name: 50 characters
• Username: 15 characters
• Direct messages: 10,000 characters
• Quote tweets: 280 characters (separate from quoted post)

Pro tip: URLs in tweets always count as 23 characters regardless of actual length due to t.co shortening.

LinkedIn Character Limits

LinkedIn offers generous limits for professional content:

• Post: 3,000 characters
• Article: ~125,000 characters
• Headline: 220 characters
• Summary/About: 2,600 characters
• Comment: 1,250 characters
• Company page description: 2,000 characters
• Message: 8,000 characters

Pro tip: Only the first ~210 characters show before "see more", so front-load your key message.

Instagram Character Limits

Instagram balances visual content with text:

• Caption: 2,200 characters
• Bio: 150 characters
• Username: 30 characters
• Comment: 2,200 characters
• Hashtags: Maximum 30 per post
• Story text: No official limit (but limited by screen space)
• Reel caption: 2,200 characters

Pro tip: Only the first 125 characters appear before "more" in the feed. Make them count.

Facebook Character Limits

Facebook offers the most generous text limits:

• Post: 63,206 characters
• Bio (intro): 101 characters
• Comment: 8,000 characters
• Page description: 255 characters
• Ad primary text: 125 characters (recommended)
• Ad headline: 40 characters
• Event description: 8,000 characters

Pro tip: Posts are truncated after ~477 characters on desktop and ~125 on mobile. Keep important content early.

TikTok Character Limits

TikTok has expanded its caption limits significantly:

• Caption: 4,000 characters
• Bio: 80 characters
• Username: 24 characters
• Comment: 150 characters
• Direct message: 1,000 characters

Pro tip: Despite the 4,000 character limit, shorter captions (under 150 characters) tend to perform better.

YouTube Character Limits

YouTube has distinct limits for different content types:

• Video title: 100 characters
• Video description: 5,000 characters
• Comment: 10,000 characters
• Channel description: 1,000 characters
• Playlist title: 100 characters
• Playlist description: 5,000 characters
• Community post: 1,000 characters

Pro tip: The first 150-200 characters of your description appear in search results. Include keywords there.

Pinterest Character Limits

Pinterest keeps descriptions concise:

• Pin description: 500 characters
• Pin title: 100 characters
• Board description: 500 characters
• Board title: 50 characters
• Profile bio: 160 characters
• Username: 30 characters

Pro tip: Pinterest is highly searchable. Include relevant keywords in the first 50-60 characters.

Threads Character Limits

Meta's Threads platform has these limits:

• Post: 500 characters
• Bio: 150 characters
• Reply: 500 characters
• Links: Allowed but count toward limit

Pro tip: Threads is integrated with Instagram, so maintain consistent branding across both platforms.

Tips for Staying Within Limits

1. Use a character counter: Tools like TypeCount help you track limits in real-time
2. Front-load important content: Key messages should appear before truncation points
3. Use line breaks strategically: White space improves readability, especially on mobile
4. Shorten URLs: Use link shorteners or platform-native link features
5. Move hashtags to comments: On Instagram, this gives you more caption space
6. Edit ruthlessly: Remove filler words and redundant phrases

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Twitter/X character limit in 2026?

Twitter/X allows 280 characters for free users and up to 25,000 characters for Premium subscribers. This extended limit allows Premium users to write longer-form content directly on the platform.

What is the LinkedIn post character limit?

LinkedIn posts can be up to 3,000 characters. For longer content, LinkedIn articles have a much higher limit of approximately 125,000 characters.

How long can an Instagram caption be?

Instagram captions can be up to 2,200 characters, but only the first 125 characters show in the feed before the "more" link. You can also include up to 30 hashtags per post.

What is the TikTok caption character limit?

TikTok captions can be up to 4,000 characters, significantly increased from the previous 2,200 character limit. However, shorter captions typically perform better for engagement.

Which social platform has the highest character limit?

Facebook has the highest standard character limit at 63,206 characters per post. However, most effective Facebook posts are much shorter, typically under 80 characters for maximum engagement.

Do URLs count toward character limits?

It depends on the platform. On Twitter/X, all URLs count as 23 characters due to automatic shortening. On other platforms, the full URL length typically counts toward the limit.