# Social Media Character Limits > This reference lists the commonly documented character limits for the major platforms as of October 2026. Platforms change limits and may give paid or verified accounts different allowances, so confirm a limit in the platform’s own composer before a campaign. - URL: https://wordcounter.pk/guides/social-media-character-limits/ - Type: Guide - Updated: 2026-10-15 **Short answer:** X 280 (weighted); Instagram caption 2,200; Facebook post 63,206; LinkedIn post 3,000; TikTok caption 4,000; YouTube title 100 and description 5,000; Threads 500; SMS 160 (GSM) or 70 (Unicode). ## Posts and captions | Platform | Main post or caption | Visible before “more” | Counter | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | X (Twitter) | 280 weighted | Full post | [X (Twitter) Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/x-twitter-character-counter/) | | Threads | 500 | Full post | [Threads Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/threads-character-counter/) | | Instagram | 2,200 | ≈ 125 | [Instagram Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/instagram-character-counter/) | | Facebook | 63,206 | ≈ 3–5 lines | [Facebook Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/facebook-character-counter/) | | LinkedIn | 3,000 | ≈ 210 | [LinkedIn Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/linkedin-character-counter/) | | TikTok | 4,000 (2,200 on earlier versions) | First line or two | [TikTok Caption Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/tiktok-caption-character-counter/) | | Reddit title | 300 | Full title | [Reddit Title Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/reddit-title-character-counter/) | | WhatsApp status | 700 | Full text | [WhatsApp Status Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/whatsapp-status-character-counter/) | ## Bios, titles and descriptions | Item | Limit | Counter | | --- | --- | --- | | Instagram bio | 150 | [Instagram Bio Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/instagram-bio-character-counter/) | | X bio | 160 | | | LinkedIn headline | 220 | [LinkedIn Headline Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/linkedin-headline-character-counter/) | | TikTok bio | 80 | | | YouTube title | 100 (≈ 60 visible) | [YouTube Title Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/youtube-title-character-counter/) | | YouTube description | 5,000 (≈ 100–150 visible) | [YouTube Description Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/youtube-description-character-counter/) | | Pinterest pin description | 800 | [Pinterest Description Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/pinterest-description-character-counter/) | | Pinterest pin title | 100 | | | WhatsApp About | 139 | | ## Ads and messaging | Item | Limit | Counter | | --- | --- | --- | | Google Ads headline | 30 | [Google Ads Headline Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/google-ads-headline-character-counter/) | | Google Ads description | 90 | | | Meta ad primary text | 125 recommended | [Facebook Ad Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/facebook-ad-character-counter/) | | SMS, GSM-7 | 160 (153 per part) | [SMS Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/sms-character-counter/) | | SMS, Unicode (Urdu, emoji) | 70 (67 per part) | [Urdu SMS Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/urdu-sms-character-counter/) | ## How platforms count characters Not every platform counts the same way. X assigns weights: links count 23, and emoji and many non-Latin characters count 2. SMS counts encoding units, so one emoji can reduce the message to 70 characters per part. Most others count Unicode characters, including spaces and line breaks. For the underlying reason, see [How Many Bytes Is a Character?](https://wordcounter.pk/guides/how-many-bytes-is-a-character/) and [Word Count vs Character Count](https://wordcounter.pk/guides/word-count-vs-character-count/). ## Limits and visible text The maximum is only part of the story: the visible portion of a long caption decides what most people read. Put the hook first and the call to action within the visible text. Keep hashtags relevant and limited; the [Hashtag Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/hashtag-counter/) counts them. All the platform-specific tools are in the [social counters](https://wordcounter.pk/tools/social-counters/) hub. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the character limit on X? 280 weighted characters for standard accounts. ### What is the Instagram caption limit? 2,200 characters. ### What is the LinkedIn post limit? 3,000 characters. ### How often do limits change? Occasionally. Check the platform before launching a campaign. ## Related - [Word Count vs Character Count](https://wordcounter.pk/guides/word-count-vs-character-count/index.md): What each measures, how they relate and when to use which. - [Ideal Meta Title and Description Length](https://wordcounter.pk/guides/ideal-meta-title-and-description-length/index.md): Recommended title and description lengths, pixel limits and Google rewrites. - [X (Twitter) Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/x-twitter-character-counter/index.md): Weighted 280-character counter for X posts, with links counted as 23. - [Instagram Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/instagram-character-counter/index.md): Instagram caption limit (2,200), hashtags (30) and what shows before “more”. - [SMS Character Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/sms-character-counter/index.md): SMS length, encoding (GSM-7 or Unicode) and number of message parts. - [What Is a Word Counter?](https://wordcounter.pk/guides/what-is-a-word-counter/index.md): Definition, how a word counter works and the units it measures. - [How Word Count Is Calculated](https://wordcounter.pk/guides/how-word-count-is-calculated/index.md): The step-by-step logic behind word counts, with edge-case examples. - [What Counts as One Word](https://wordcounter.pk/guides/what-counts-as-one-word/index.md): Quick-reference rules for contractions, hyphens, numbers, URLs and symbols. ## Images - ![Social Media Character Limits: Character limits for every major platform, in one table, as of October 2026. (WordCounter.pk cover graphic)](https://wordcounter.pk/img/social-media-character-limits/social-media-character-limits-cover-1200.webp) - ![What this guide covers: Posts and captions; Bios, titles and descriptions; Ads and messaging](https://wordcounter.pk/img/social-media-character-limits/social-media-character-limits-how-it-works-1200.webp) - ![Posts and captions: Social Media Character Limits: reference table with columns Platform, Main post or caption, Visible before “more”, Counter](https://wordcounter.pk/img/social-media-character-limits/social-media-character-limits-reference-1200.webp) - ![Map showing how Social Media Character Limits connects to Writing Guides, Word Count vs Character Count, Ideal Meta Title and Description Length, X (Twitter) Character Counter and more on WordCounter.pk](https://wordcounter.pk/img/social-media-character-limits/social-media-character-limits-related-tools-map-1200.webp) - ![Quick answer card: What is the character limit on X? 280 weighted characters for standard accounts.](https://wordcounter.pk/img/social-media-character-limits/social-media-character-limits-quick-answer-1200.webp)