Character limits for Instagram captions, X posts, LinkedIn posts and YouTube titles

As of November 2026: an Instagram caption holds 2,200 characters, an X post 280, a Bluesky post 300, a Threads post 500, a LinkedIn post 3,000, a YouTube title 100 and a YouTube description 5,000 bytes. Paste a draft into the word counter and the Fits in bars show how much room is left for each one, counted the way each platform documents.

The limits

Platforms change these numbers from time to time, so treat the table as a snapshot. The word counter lists the same sources under the tool.

Steps

1. Write or paste your post into the word counter.
2. Look at Fits in. Each bar names the platform, the limit and how many are left, such as "212 left". Over the limit, the bar fills dark and the text changes to "18 over".
3. Edit until the bar you care about shows room to spare. Leave a few characters for a last-minute tag or link.
4. Press Copy text and paste it into the app.

Why your count and the app's count differ

Most of the confusion comes from three things.

Links on X. X wraps every link in its own short form and counts it as 23 characters, however long or short the address is. A 90-character link costs 23; a 12-character link also costs 23. The counter applies this rule, including bare domains like example.com with no https://. X recognises a few more domain endings than the counter's list, so treat its X figure as a close estimate.

Emoji. On Instagram, LinkedIn and Bluesky an emoji is one character, even a family or flag emoji built from several parts. On X each emoji counts as 2. On Threads an emoji counts as its size in bytes, usually 4, so a row of emoji eats into 500 faster than you expect. In a YouTube description most emoji take 4 bytes of the 5,000.

Line breaks. A new line is a character everywhere. A caption with lots of short lines uses up characters on the breaks.

What fits where

Rough sizes help when you plan one message for several apps:

Writing to fit

• Lead with the point. Feeds show only the first line or two before a "more" link, whatever the full limit is.
• Trim before you cut. Remove filler words, repeated hashtags and double line breaks before you lose a sentence that matters.
• Swap emoji for words on X and Threads when you are a few characters over.
• Move a long link. On X it costs 23 either way, but on Threads and Bluesky a short link saves room.
• Fix the casing once. If a draft arrived in capitals or needs title case for a YouTube title, run it through the case converter before checking the count.

A note on hashtags

Instagram's rules on how many hashtags a post may carry have been reported to change, and published sources disagreed when this guide was checked. The app tells you when a post has too many, so check there rather than relying on a fixed number.

Questions

Does a space count as a character?

Yes, on every platform in the table. The counter's Characters figure includes spaces; Without spaces is there for other uses.

Do paid X accounts get longer posts?

X has offered longer posts to some paid accounts. The 280 limit here is the one X documents for counting characters, which applies to standard accounts.

Why is the YouTube description counted in bytes?

YouTube documents the description limit as 5,000 bytes, not characters. Plain English text is one byte a character, so it makes no difference there, but accents, non-Latin scripts and emoji take two to four bytes each.

Is my draft uploaded to check it?

No. Counting happens in your browser and the text stays on your device.