What are the social media character limits in 2026?

Across the six platforms this checker covers: an Instagram caption stops at 2,200, a TikTok video caption at 2,200 UTF-16 units, a LinkedIn post at 3,000, a WhatsApp text message at 4,096 and a YouTube description at 5,000 with a 100 character title. The Pages API reference publishes no character limit for a Facebook Page post. Every figure was read from the platform page on 4 September 2026.

Which platform has the shortest caption limit?

Instagram and TikTok, tied at 2,200 characters each (TikTok counts its 2,200 in UTF-16 units, which comes out slightly different from plain characters for emoji and some scripts). A caption written for LinkedIn at 3,000 characters is already too long for either one.

How many hashtags can you use on Instagram in 2026?

Five. The Instagram Help Centre says you can use up to five tags on a post, and that a photo or video carrying more than five will not post. The Instagram Graph API media reference still says 30, which is why counters disagree. Plan for five.

Do emoji count as one character?

It depends on the field. Counted the way you read them, a family emoji and a flag are one character each. Counted in UTF-16 units, which is how TikTok documents its caption field, the family emoji is eight and the flag is four. Counted in UTF-8 bytes, which is how the YouTube Data API measures a description and how Instagram measures direct message text, the family emoji is 18 bytes. The checker prints all three counts so the gap is visible.

How does Arabic count towards a caption limit?

One character per letter, the same as English, so a 2,200 character Instagram caption holds 2,200 Arabic characters. Bytes are where it changes: Arabic takes two UTF-8 bytes per letter, so a byte measured field such as the YouTube description through the Data API, at 5,000 bytes, or Instagram direct message text, at 1,000 bytes, fills roughly twice as fast in Arabic as in English.

What is the character limit for a Facebook post?

The Pages API posts reference describes how to publish a Page post without stating a maximum length, so there is no published figure to count against and Facebook is left without one here. The Meta ads guide does recommend 50 to 150 characters of primary text for a Feed image ad, which is guidance for advertising rather than a limit on an organic post.

Can one caption be used on all six platforms?

Only if it clears the tightest limit in the set you are posting to. Write to 2,200 characters and it fits everywhere, including Instagram and TikTok. Past 2,200 you are down to LinkedIn, WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook, and past 3,000 to WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook.

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Caption length checker for six platforms.

Social media character limits are different on all six platforms. The tightest is an Instagram caption and a TikTok video caption, both at 2,200, then a LinkedIn post at 3,000, a WhatsApp text message at 4,096 and a YouTube description at 5,000. The Pages API reference publishes no character limit for a Facebook Page post, so no number is printed for one. Paste a caption below and each limit is counted the way the platform documents it, with emoji and Arabic counted as you read them.

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Try one:

Paste a caption to see where it fits and what stops it.

Characters: 0
UTF-16 units: 0
Bytes: 0
Words: 0
Hashtags: 0
Mentions: 0
Links: 0

Instagram takes five hashtags on a post or reel and 20 at tags in a caption. What the five hashtag limit changed.

Instagram

Fits

Caption0 of 2,200 characters

2,200 characters left.

Hashtags per post or reel: 5 hashtags, 5 left
At tags per caption: 20 at tags, 20 left
Direct message text: 1,000 bytes, 1,000 left

TikTok

Fits

Video caption0 of 2,200 UTF-16 units

2,200 UTF-16 units left.

Photo post title: 90 UTF-16 units
Photo post description: 4,000 UTF-16 units, 4,000 left

Fits

Post0 of 3,000 characters

3,000 characters left.

Article: 125,000 characters, 125,000 left

Fits

Text message0 of 4,096 characters

4,096 characters left.

Template body: 1,024 characters, 1,024 left
Template header text: 60 characters
Button text: 25 characters

YouTube

Fits

Video description0 of 5,000 characters

5,000 characters left.

Video title: 100 characters
Description through the Data API: 5,000 bytes, 5,000 left
Hashtags before they are ignored: 60 hashtags, 60 left

Facebook

No published limit

Page post0 characters

The Pages API posts reference documents how to publish a Page post without stating a maximum length, so there is no published number to count against.

Primary text on a Feed image ad: 150 characters

Social media character limits in 2026

Every row was read from the platform page linked beside it on 4 September 2026. Where a platform documents the same field twice, in the app and in its API, both figures are here, because a scheduler posts through the API and a person posts through the app.

Published character limits on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube and WhatsApp, with the source for each, read on 4 September 2026.
Platform	Field	Limit	Source
Instagram	Caption	2,200 characters	Instagram Platform, IG User Media reference
Instagram	Hashtags per post or reelThe Help Centre says a post carrying more than five tags will not post. The API reference still says 30.	5 hashtags	Instagram Help Centre, using hashtags
Instagram	At tags per caption	20 at tags	Instagram Platform, IG User Media reference
Instagram	Direct message textBytes, not characters, so Arabic and emoji use the allowance faster.	1,000 bytes	Instagram Platform, messaging API
TikTok	Video captionTikTok documents this field in UTF-16 runes, so most emoji cost two.	2,200 UTF-16 units	TikTok Content Posting API, direct post reference
TikTok	Photo post title	90 UTF-16 units	TikTok Content Posting API, photo post reference
TikTok	Photo post descriptionThis is the 4,000 figure repeated elsewhere as a TikTok caption limit. It belongs to photo posts.	4,000 UTF-16 units	TikTok Content Posting API, photo post reference
LinkedIn	Post	3,000 characters	LinkedIn Help, character limits for posts
LinkedIn	ArticleLinkedIn suggests moving anything past 3,000 characters into an article.	125,000 characters	LinkedIn Help, publishing articles
WhatsApp	Text message	4,096 characters	WhatsApp Cloud API, text messages
WhatsApp	Template bodyOutside the 24 hour window an approved template is the only thing you can send, and it is a quarter of the length.	1,024 characters	WhatsApp Business Management API, template components
WhatsApp	Template header text	60 characters	WhatsApp Business Management API, template components
WhatsApp	Button text	25 characters	WhatsApp Business Management API, template components
YouTube	Video description	5,000 characters	YouTube Help, add video details
YouTube	Video titleThe Data API documents the same 100 characters and refuses < and > in a title or a description.	100 characters	YouTube Data API, videos resource
YouTube	Description through the Data APIThe same field, counted in bytes by the API. An Arabic description reaches it at roughly half the characters.	5,000 bytes	YouTube Data API, videos resource
YouTube	Hashtags before they are ignoredPast 60 hashtags YouTube ignores every hashtag on the video, and three of them show beside the title.	60 hashtags	YouTube Help, use hashtags
Facebook	Page postThe Pages API posts reference documents how to publish a Page post without stating a maximum length, so there is no published number to count against.	Not published	Meta Pages API, posts reference
Facebook	Primary text on a Feed image adguidanceA recommendation of 50 to 150 characters from the Meta ads guide, not a limit on an organic post.	150 characters	Meta ads guide, Facebook Feed image

Why two counters give you two answers

A caption is measured three different ways, and most counters only know one of them. Counted as you read them, the family emoji is one character. Counted in UTF-16 units, the way JavaScript measures a string by default and the way the TikTok Content Posting API documents its 2,200 limit, the same emoji is eight. Counted in UTF-8 bytes, the way the YouTube Data API measures a 5,000 byte description, it is 18.

Arabic behaves the other way round. Every Arabic letter is one character and one UTF-16 unit, so a 2,200 character Instagram caption really does hold 2,200 Arabic characters. In bytes it takes two per letter, so an Arabic YouTube description reaches the 5,000 byte API ceiling at roughly 2,500 characters, and Instagram direct message text, capped at 1,000 bytes, runs out at about 500 Arabic characters.

So the checker prints all three: characters as you read them, UTF-16 units and UTF-8 bytes. Each platform field is judged in the unit its own documentation uses, which is why a caption can pass Instagram at 2,200 and fail TikTok at the same number once there are enough emoji in it.

What to do when a caption is too long

Five moves, in the order they usually help. None of them needs the caption rewritten from scratch.

Write to the tightest platform in the set. If Instagram or TikTok is in the plan, 2,200 characters is the constraint, not the longer caption. Write to that limit first, then let the longer version run everywhere else.
Split rather than trim. A LinkedIn post stops at 3,000 characters, but a LinkedIn article takes up to 125,000 and stays attached to the same page. If the caption is really an essay, that is the split to make before cutting a single sentence.
Count the hashtags before the characters. Instagram now takes five per post or reel, so a caption built on a block of 20 tags fails for a reason that has nothing to do with length. See what the five hashtag limit changed.
Watch the byte fields in Arabic. A bilingual caption that fits an Instagram feed post can still be refused as a direct message, because that field is measured in bytes.
Keep the WhatsApp version short. Inside the 24 hour customer service window a text message takes 4,096 characters. Outside it, the only message you can send is an approved template, and the template body stops at 1,024.

If you post the same story to all six, 2,200 characters is the number that clears everything. Ignis publishes to all six from one draft, in each client time zone, and the platform limits are the platform limits either way. The plans are on pricing.

Questions people ask about caption limits

What are the social media character limits in 2026?: Across the six platforms this checker covers: an Instagram caption stops at 2,200, a TikTok video caption at 2,200 UTF-16 units, a LinkedIn post at 3,000, a WhatsApp text message at 4,096 and a YouTube description at 5,000 with a 100 character title. The Pages API reference publishes no character limit for a Facebook Page post. Every figure was read from the platform page on 4 September 2026.
Which platform has the shortest caption limit?: Instagram and TikTok, tied at 2,200 characters each (TikTok counts its 2,200 in UTF-16 units, which comes out slightly different from plain characters for emoji and some scripts). A caption written for LinkedIn at 3,000 characters is already too long for either one.
How many hashtags can you use on Instagram in 2026?: Five. The Instagram Help Centre says you can use up to five tags on a post, and that a photo or video carrying more than five will not post. The Instagram Graph API media reference still says 30, which is why counters disagree. Plan for five.
Do emoji count as one character?: It depends on the field. Counted the way you read them, a family emoji and a flag are one character each. Counted in UTF-16 units, which is how TikTok documents its caption field, the family emoji is eight and the flag is four. Counted in UTF-8 bytes, which is how the YouTube Data API measures a description and how Instagram measures direct message text, the family emoji is 18 bytes. The checker prints all three counts so the gap is visible.
How does Arabic count towards a caption limit?: One character per letter, the same as English, so a 2,200 character Instagram caption holds 2,200 Arabic characters. Bytes are where it changes: Arabic takes two UTF-8 bytes per letter, so a byte measured field such as the YouTube description through the Data API, at 5,000 bytes, or Instagram direct message text, at 1,000 bytes, fills roughly twice as fast in Arabic as in English.
What is the character limit for a Facebook post?: The Pages API posts reference describes how to publish a Page post without stating a maximum length, so there is no published figure to count against and Facebook is left without one here. The Meta ads guide does recommend 50 to 150 characters of primary text for a Feed image ad, which is guidance for advertising rather than a limit on an organic post.
Can one caption be used on all six platforms?: Only if it clears the tightest limit in the set you are posting to. Write to 2,200 characters and it fits everywhere, including Instagram and TikTok. Past 2,200 you are down to LinkedIn, WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook, and past 3,000 to WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook.

Sources

Each page below was read on 4 September 2026. Platforms change these figures without notice, so open the source before you rebuild a caption template around one.

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