What is the character limit on X (Twitter)?

X allows 280 characters per post, counted on a weighted basis: most characters count as one, but a URL always costs a flat 23 characters no matter how long the real link is.

What is the Instagram caption character limit?

Instagram allows up to 2,200 characters per caption, plus a real cap of 30 hashtags and 20 @-mentions — extra mentions beyond 20 are silently dropped rather than blocking the post.

Which platform has the shortest character limit?

X (Twitter) has the shortest limit among SkedCast’s supported platforms, at 280 characters per post.

Which platform allows the longest posts?

Facebook Pages allows the longest posts, at 63,206 characters.

Does attaching a photo or video ever shrink the character limit?

Yes, on Telegram — its limit drops from 4,096 characters for a text-only message to 1,024 once a photo or video is attached to it.

Do hashtags and mentions count against the character limit?

Yes, on every platform hashtags and mentions are part of the caption text and count toward its character limit; some platforms also cap how many hashtags or mentions are allowed regardless of length.

Where do these character limit numbers come from?

From SkedCast’s own composer registry — the same per-platform limits the product enforces when you actually schedule a post, not an independently researched or estimated figure.

Social media character limits, 2026

All guides

By The SkedCast Team · Updated 23 September 2026 · 6 min read

Key takeaways

Facebook Pages allows the longest posts at 63,206 characters; X (Twitter) the shortest at 280.
X counts characters on a weighted basis, not a simple length count — every URL costs 23 characters regardless of how long the real link is.
Telegram’s limit drops from 4,096 characters to 1,024 the moment a photo or video is attached to the message.
Instagram enforces a 30-hashtag and 20-mention cap alongside its caption limit; most other live platforms enforce neither.

Social media character limits 2026: character limits at a glance

Every live platform SkedCast schedules to, with its real per-post or per-caption character limit. These are the same numbers SkedCast’s composer and free caption counter enforce — read straight from the product’s own platform registry, not typed by hand.

X (Twitter): 280 characters
LinkedIn: 3,000 characters
Instagram: 2,200 characters
Facebook Pages: 63,206 characters
TikTok: 2,200 characters
YouTube: 5,000 characters
Threads: 500 characters
Pinterest: 800 characters
Bluesky: 300 characters
Telegram: 4,096 characters (1,024 once media is attached)

X (Twitter)

X (Twitter) allows up to 280 characters per post. X (Twitter) counts on a weighted basis rather than a simple character count, and every URL costs a flat 23 characters regardless of its real length.

LinkedIn allows up to 3,000 characters per post.

Instagram

Instagram allows up to 2,200 characters per post. It also enforces a real cap of 30 hashtags per post. Beyond 20 @-mentions, the extras are silently dropped rather than blocked.

Facebook Pages

Facebook Pages allows up to 63,206 characters per post.

TikTok

TikTok allows up to 2,200 characters per post.

YouTube

YouTube allows up to 5,000 characters per post. It also enforces a real cap of 15 hashtags per post.

Threads

Threads allows up to 500 characters per post. It also enforces a real cap of 1 hashtag per post.

Pinterest allows up to 800 characters per post.

Bluesky

Bluesky allows up to 300 characters per post.

Telegram allows up to 4,096 characters per post, dropping to 1,024 once a photo or video is attached.

Why the limit matters beyond just fitting the text in

A caption that exceeds a platform’s real limit either gets rejected by the platform’s API at publish time or, on platforms that truncate rather than reject, gets cut off mid-sentence in the feed. Checking against the real per-platform number — not a rounded-off "2,000 characters is usually safe" rule of thumb — avoids both.

The two easiest limits to get wrong are X’s weighted counting (a caption that looks short can still hit 280 once a URL is counted at its flat 23-character cost) and Telegram’s media penalty (a caption written for the 4,096-character text-only limit can silently overflow the moment a photo is attached).

character limitscaption lengthplatform limitsX character limitInstagram caption limit

FAQ

What is the character limit on X (Twitter)?: X allows 280 characters per post, counted on a weighted basis: most characters count as one, but a URL always costs a flat 23 characters no matter how long the real link is.
What is the Instagram caption character limit?: Instagram allows up to 2,200 characters per caption, plus a real cap of 30 hashtags and 20 @-mentions — extra mentions beyond 20 are silently dropped rather than blocking the post.
Which platform has the shortest character limit?: X (Twitter) has the shortest limit among SkedCast’s supported platforms, at 280 characters per post.
Which platform allows the longest posts?: Facebook Pages allows the longest posts, at 63,206 characters.
Does attaching a photo or video ever shrink the character limit?: Yes, on Telegram — its limit drops from 4,096 characters for a text-only message to 1,024 once a photo or video is attached to it.
Do hashtags and mentions count against the character limit?: Yes, on every platform hashtags and mentions are part of the caption text and count toward its character limit; some platforms also cap how many hashtags or mentions are allowed regardless of length.
Where do these character limit numbers come from?: From SkedCast’s own composer registry — the same per-platform limits the product enforces when you actually schedule a post, not an independently researched or estimated figure.