Character Limits on Every Platform: Twitter, Instagram, SMS & More (2025)
Getting cut off mid-sentence because you hit a character limit is frustrating. Here are the exact limits for every major platform in 2025.
Character Limits on Every Platform: Twitter, Instagram, SMS & More (2025)
Nothing is more frustrating than crafting the perfect caption, only to have it cut off by a character limit you didn't know about. Whether you're a social media manager, a blogger, or just someone trying to send a text, knowing your limits saves you from embarrassing truncations.
This is the complete, up-to-date guide to character limits on every major platform — and how to check yours before you post.
Quick Reference Table
| Platform | Character Limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Twitter / X | 280 | Basic accounts. Verified get more. |
| Twitter / X (Premium) | 25,000 | Twitter Blue/Premium subscribers |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 | Only first 125 shown before "more" |
| Instagram bio | 150 | — |
| Facebook post | 63,206 | Effectively unlimited |
| Facebook comment | 8,000 | — |
| LinkedIn post | 3,000 | — |
| LinkedIn article | 125,000 | — |
| LinkedIn connection note | 300 | — |
| TikTok caption | 2,200 | — |
| YouTube title | 100 | Only ~70 shown in search |
| YouTube description | 5,000 | Only first 125 shown before "more" |
| Pinterest pin description | 500 | — |
| Reddit title | 300 | — |
| Reddit post | 40,000 | — |
| SMS text message | 160 | Single SMS. Longer texts split |
| iMessage | No limit | — |
| WhatsApp message | 65,536 | — |
| Email subject line | 78 recommended | Most clients show ~50–60 chars |
| Email preview text | 100–140 | Varies by email client |
| Google title tag | 60 | ~600px width |
| Google meta description | 160 | Varies by device |
| Google Business name | 75 | — |
| Google Ads headline | 30 | Per headline. 3 headlines allowed |
| Google Ads description | 90 | Per description. 2 allowed |
Social Media Platforms
Twitter / X
Twitter's 280-character limit is perhaps the most famous in tech. Originally 140 characters (which itself was a deliberate nod to SMS limits), it was doubled in 2017 for most languages.
What counts toward the limit:
- All text, spaces, and punctuation
- URLs (counted as 23 characters regardless of actual length)
- @mentions
What doesn't count:
- Media attachments (images, videos, GIFs)
- Quote tweet content
Tips:
- Use URL shorteners to save characters (though Twitter auto-shortens anyway)
- Twitter Premium (Blue) subscribers get up to 25,000 characters for long-form posts
Instagram captions allow up to 2,200 characters — much more than most people think. However, only the first 125 characters are shown before the "...more" link. This means your hook needs to be in the first 125 characters.
What counts:
- All text and emojis (each emoji counts as 1–2 characters)
- Hashtags (count as characters)
- Line breaks
Bio limit: 150 characters. Make every character count — this is your first impression.
Tips:
- Front-load your most important information in the first 125 characters
- Use line breaks to improve readability (press Enter in the Instagram app)
- Hashtags in the caption count toward the 2,200 limit
LinkedIn posts allow 3,000 characters — far more than Twitter. But like Instagram, only the first ~210 characters are shown before a "...see more" button.
LinkedIn article: Up to 125,000 characters, making it suitable for long-form thought leadership content.
Connection request notes: 300 characters only. Make them personal and specific.
Tips:
- Your opening line must hook the reader — it's all they see initially
- LinkedIn rewards consistency — posting regularly matters more than post length
- Articles are indexed by Google and LinkedIn's search — add keywords
Facebook has an enormous limit of 63,206 characters for posts, which is effectively unlimited for any practical purpose. Facebook doesn't truncate the same way Instagram does.
Comments: 8,000 characters Group posts: Same as regular posts
Messaging Platforms
SMS
A standard SMS message is 160 characters. Once you exceed this, the message is split into multiple messages (called segments) and charged accordingly by your carrier.
Important nuances:
- If you use special characters outside the standard GSM character set, the limit drops to 70 characters per segment
- Emojis count as 2 characters in SMS (they use Unicode encoding)
- Most modern phones reassemble segmented messages so recipients see them as one long message
Business SMS (marketing): Most SMS marketing platforms allow up to 1,600 characters (10 segments), but cost goes up proportionally.
WhatsApp allows up to 65,536 characters in a single message — longer than most documents you'd ever write in a chat. No practical limit applies.
iMessage (Apple)
No official character limit. Messages are delivered as SMS when the recipient doesn't have an iPhone, at which point the 160-character SMS limit applies.
Search & Email
Google Meta Tags
Title tag: ~60 characters (approximately 600px width on desktop) Meta description: ~160 characters on desktop, ~120 on mobile
These aren't hard limits — Google truncates with "..." when exceeded. Going slightly over won't break anything, but your text will be cut off.
Google Ads:
- Headline: 30 characters (you get 3 headlines per ad)
- Description: 90 characters (you get 2 descriptions per ad)
- Display URL path: 15 characters each (2 paths available)
Email Subject Lines
Most email clients display 50–60 characters of a subject line on desktop, and only 30–40 characters on mobile. Write your most important content first.
Preview text: The text shown after your subject line in the inbox preview. Typically 85–100 characters on desktop. If you don't set preview text, email clients pull the first text from your email body — often HTML code or an unsubscribe link.
How to Check Your Character Count Before Posting
The fastest way is to use our Character Counter tool. Just paste your text and:
- See your total character count instantly
- Compare against the platform limit bars shown below the counter
- Know immediately if you're over or under any limit
- Adjust your text before copying and posting
The tool shows progress bars for Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, SMS, meta descriptions, and more — all at once.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do emojis count as one character?
In most web and app contexts, standard emojis count as 1–2 characters. In SMS specifically, emojis use Unicode encoding and reduce your per-segment limit from 160 to 70 characters.
Do hashtags count toward the limit?
Yes, on all platforms. A hashtag like #socialmedia counts as 12 characters.
Does a line break count as a character?
Yes. A line break (pressing Enter) is counted as one character on most platforms.
Can I schedule posts to avoid worrying about limits?
Tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, and Later all show character count in their composers and warn you before you hit limits.
Conclusion
Knowing your character limits means never getting cut off mid-sentence again. Bookmark this page as a reference, or use our Character Counter tool to check any text against every major platform at once — instantly and for free.