Back to Universal Posting

Updated for 2026

Social media character limits

Post, caption and bio limits for X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads and Telegram — plus the truncation points that matter more than the limits themselves.

The short version

The hard limit is rarely your problem — the truncation point is. Every network hides text behind a “more” link long before you hit the cap, so write for the first 100–150 characters and treat the rest as depth for people who already clicked. Limits change; if a number below looks off for your account, trust what the composer tells you.

Limits by platform

X

Post limit:
280 characters on a standard account; longer posts for paid Premium accounts
Truncates at:
~280 — beyond that the post is collapsed behind “Show more”
Bio:
160 characters

Links count as a fixed-length shortened URL rather than their full length, and each attached image does not consume characters. Anything longer works best as a numbered thread.

LinkedIn

Post limit:
3,000 characters per post
Truncates at:
~200 characters on desktop, ~140 on mobile before “…see more”
Bio:
220-character headline, 2,600-character About section

The first two lines do all the work. Put the hook above the fold and keep the payoff scannable with short paragraphs.

Instagram

Post limit:
2,200 characters per caption, up to 30 hashtags
Truncates at:
~125 characters before “more”
Bio:
150 characters

Captions are searchable, so front-load the keywords you want to be found for instead of opening with hashtags.

Facebook

Post limit:
63,206 characters — effectively unlimited
Truncates at:
~250 characters before “See more”
Bio:
101 characters for a Page short description

Long posts are allowed but rarely rewarded. Posts of roughly 40–80 characters consistently out-engage essays.

TikTok

Post limit:
2,200 characters per caption
Truncates at:
~90 characters over the video before it collapses
Bio:
80 characters

Caption text overlaps the video UI, so keep the visible line short and move context into on-screen text or a pinned comment.

Threads

Post limit:
500 characters per post
Truncates at:
~4 lines before the post collapses in-feed
Bio:
150 characters

Longer ideas chain naturally — reply to your own post to continue rather than compressing everything into 500 characters.

Telegram

Post limit:
4,096 characters per message; 1,024 characters for a media caption
Truncates at:
No feed truncation — the full message shows in the channel
Bio:
70-character channel description line, 255 characters total

Channel posts arrive as push notifications, so length is a courtesy question. Split long updates instead of sending one wall of text.

Check your own post before you publish

The X preview tool counts your text exactly the way X does — including hashtags and shortened links — and shows the thread split before anything goes out.

Open the X character counter

Writing once for every limit

  1. Draft the longest version first — usually the LinkedIn or Facebook one.
  2. Cut it to 500 characters for Threads, keeping only the argument.
  3. Cut again to a single 280-character idea for X, or split it into a thread.
  4. Rewrite the opening line per platform; the hook is what truncation exposes.
  5. Move hashtags to the end everywhere except TikTok, where they compete with the caption.

Frequently asked questions

What is the character limit on X?

280 characters on a standard account. Paid Premium accounts can post considerably longer text, but the feed still collapses anything past roughly 280 characters behind a “Show more” link, so a thread usually reads better.

How long can an Instagram caption be?

Up to 2,200 characters with a maximum of 30 hashtags. Only about the first 125 characters are visible before the “more” link, so the opening sentence carries the message.

What is the LinkedIn post character limit?

3,000 characters. Roughly 200 characters show on desktop (about 140 on mobile) before readers have to tap “…see more”.

How do I fit one idea on every platform?

Write the longest version first, then cut down rather than padding up. Universal Posting does this automatically — it rewrites a single idea into a platform-native version for each network and flags anything over the limit before you publish.

Also useful: best times to post on social media.