Social media character limits 2026: every platform in one table

Every network counts characters differently, and the limits change more often than most cheat sheets get updated. This page lists the limits that actually matter when you write a post, explains the counting quirks that trip people up (links on X, emoji, Mastodon's flat link length), and gives you a live counter so you can test a draft against every network at once.

Key takeaways

• The short-form networks are the hard constraint: Bluesky 300, X 280 (free accounts), Threads 500, Mastodon 500 (default).
• LinkedIn allows 3,000 characters, but only about the first 210 show before "see more".
• Instagram allows 2,200 characters in a caption, and around 125 show in the feed.
• If one post must fit everywhere, write to 280 and keep links at the end.

Try it: one draft, every limit

Type or paste a draft below. Each bar shows how much of that network's limit you've used. X and Mastodon count every link as 23 characters, which the counter follows, so you can paste full URLs.

The master table

These are the limits for the main text of a standard post. Media captions, replies and long-form formats can differ, and we cover those in the sections below.

X, Threads, Bluesky and Mastodon

The short-form networks are where limits bite, and each one counts slightly differently.

X uses weighted counting. Most Latin characters count as 1, while CJK characters and emoji count as 2. Every link counts as exactly 23 characters no matter how long it is, because X wraps it in its t.co shortener. A free account gets 280 weighted characters per post; Premium subscribers can post up to 25,000, but only the first 280 or so show in the timeline before "Show more". If you schedule for a brand account, assume 280 unless you know the account is on Premium.

Bluesky allows 300 characters, counted as graphemes. A grapheme is what a reader sees as one character, so a thumbs-up with a skin tone counts once. Links count in full in the text, but Bluesky shortens their display and creates a link card, so long URLs eat your budget. Our Bluesky scheduling guide covers how to write threads that stay readable.

Threads allows 500 characters per post, and a post can include one link. Longer thoughts go into a thread of replies.

Mastodon defaults to 500 characters, but every server can set its own limit, and some allow several thousand. Like X, Mastodon counts every link as 23 characters regardless of length, which makes it friendlier to long URLs than Bluesky.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn allows 3,000 characters in a post, both on personal profiles and company pages. The number that matters more is the fold: on mobile, roughly the first 210 characters show before "see more". Put the point of the post in the first two lines.

Comments are limited to 1,250 characters, and article headlines to 100. Hashtags count towards the 3,000 and are less useful than they used to be. Three relevant ones are plenty. If you want to know when to publish, our LinkedIn timing guide has a heatmap broken down by industry.

Instagram and TikTok

Instagram captions can run to 2,200 characters, with up to 30 hashtags, though Instagram now recommends 3 to 5. In the feed, only about 125 characters show before "more", so the first line has to work on its own. Bios are capped at 150 characters.

TikTok raised its caption limit to 4,000 characters. In practice, only the first line or two show over the video, so treat the rest as searchable context rather than something people will read.

YouTube and Pinterest

YouTube titles are limited to 100 characters, and around 60 to 70 show in search results before truncation. Descriptions can be 5,000 characters, with the first 150 or so visible above the "more" link. Put the most important link in the first two lines.

Pinterest gives you 100 characters for the pin title and 500 for the description. Only the first 50 or so characters of the description show in the grid, so lead with the keyword people search for.

Reddit, Telegram and Discord

Reddit titles are limited to 300 characters and text posts to 40,000. Individual subreddits often set stricter rules, including banned link domains or minimum account age, and those rules matter more than the platform limit.

Telegram messages can be 4,096 characters. When a message has media attached, the caption limit drops to 1,024, a common surprise when scheduling announcements with an image. If you post to a Telegram channel through a bot, the same limits apply.

Discord messages are capped at 2,000 characters, or 4,000 for users with Nitro. Bots, including schedulers posting Discord announcements, are held to 2,000.

The fediverse, Nostr and Farcaster

Fediverse software beyond Mastodon varies a lot. Lemmy posts can be long, at around 10,000 characters for the body, while Misskey and Pleroma instances set their own limits. When in doubt, check your instance's about page.

Farcaster casts allow 1,024 characters on current clients. Nostr has no limit at the protocol level, but clients truncate long notes in the feed, and some relays reject very large events.

Hashtag, mention and link limits

Text limits are only part of it. A few other caps catch people out:

• Instagram: 30 hashtags per post, 20 mentions per caption.
• X: no hard hashtag limit, but more than two looks spammy and can reduce reach.
• LinkedIn: no hard limit, but posts with many hashtags tend to underperform.
• Bluesky: hashtags are ordinary text and count towards the 300.
• Threads: one topic tag per post.
• Links: Threads and Instagram captions don't make links clickable in the same way other networks do. Instagram captions never do.

Writing one post that fits everywhere

If you publish the same idea to many networks, a few habits save a lot of rework:

1. Write the short version first

   Start with a version under 280 characters that makes sense on its own. It works on X, Bluesky, Threads and Mastodon unchanged.

2. Put links last

   A link at the end can be dropped or swapped per network without breaking the sentence. It also keeps the first line, the part that shows everywhere, clean.

3. Expand for long-form networks

   For LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, add context underneath the short version. The first two lines still need to carry the point.

4. Check each network before you schedule

   A scheduler that shows per-network previews and counts saves you from discovering a truncated post after it's live.

In Postoni, the composer counts characters per network the way each one does it and warns you before a post goes over. You can write one global version and customise it per channel, so the X version can be short while the LinkedIn version runs longer. If you'd rather test drafts without signing up, our free character counter works the same way as the tool above.

Frequently asked questions

What is the character limit on X (Twitter) in 2026?

Free accounts can post 280 weighted characters. Links always count as 23 characters, and emoji and CJK characters count as 2. Premium subscribers can post up to 25,000 characters, but only around the first 280 show in the timeline.

Do emoji count as one character?

It depends on the network. Bluesky and most others count what you see, so one emoji is one character. X counts most emoji as 2. Some older systems count the underlying code units, which can make a single emoji count as 4 or more.

Which social network has the shortest limit?

X, at 280 characters for free accounts. Bluesky is close behind at 300. If a post has to fit everywhere, write it for X.

Do hashtags count towards the character limit?

Yes, on every major network. Hashtags are part of the text, including the # sign. On Instagram they also count towards the separate 30-hashtag cap.