Social media API limits in 2026: what each platform lets you automate

Every major platform lets an approved app publish posts through its official API, but only Instagram, Facebook and X allow DM replies without a beta program, and only Threads allows comments on other people’s posts found by keyword. The rest of this page lists, per platform, what an app can automate and the published limits, checked against official documentation on 13 October 2026.

Summary table

Instagram

Instagram allows publishing, comment moderation and DM replies through the Instagram API, but comments on other accounts’ posts are allowed only when your account is mentioned.

• Publishing: images must be JPEG. Carousels hold up to 10 items. Instagram documents 100 API-published posts per 24 hours; the carousel section of the same page states 50, so a safe app plans for 50.
• Comments on your own posts: reply, hide and delete are supported. A private reply sends a DM to the commenter, limited to 750 per hour.
• DMs: an app can reply only after the user writes first, and only within 24 hours of that message.
• Other accounts: the mentions endpoint allows a comment on media that mentions your account. Media found by hashtag search may not be commented on.

How an AI social media manager works inside these rules is covered in Instagram automation limits.

Facebook Pages

A Facebook Page can be posted to and scheduled through the Pages API, from 10 minutes to 30 days ahead, and Page messages can be answered within 24 hours. There is no practical way to comment on posts outside your Page.

The message tags and reply windows are covered in Facebook Page automation limits.

Threads

Threads is the only platform where an app may reply to other people’s posts found by keyword, if it holds the threads_keyword_search or threads_manage_mentions permission.

• Publishing: 250 posts per 24 hours per account.
• Replies: 1,000 per 24 hours. Deletions: 100 per 24 hours.
• Keyword search: 2,200 queries per 24 hours per user, shared across every app that user has connected.
• DMs: Threads has no messaging API.

Keyword comments, daily caps and spacing are covered in Threads automation.

TikTok

TikTok allows video publishing through the Content Posting API only after the app passes TikTok’s audit; before the audit, posts are private (SELF_ONLY) and limited to 5 users per 24 hours.

• Volume: about 15 posts per creator per day, shared by every app the creator uses, and 6 requests per minute per token.
• Comment replies are available for Business accounts, except accounts in the EU, UK and Switzerland (secondary source; confirm with TikTok).
• DMs are in beta, need approval, allow replies within 48 hours, and are not available in the EEA, UK or Switzerland (secondary source).
• There is no endpoint for commenting on other creators’ videos.

X

X charges per action through pay-per-use API credits: $0.015 per post, $0.20 per post that contains a link, $0.010 per reply and $0.015 per DM.

• Replies are allowed only when the brand was mentioned or quoted.
• Automated AI reply bots need written approval from X under the X Automation Rules. Keyword-triggered automatic replies are not allowed.
• Limits: 10,000 created posts per 24 hours per app and 100 per 15 minutes per user; reading is capped at 3 million posts per month.

YouTube

YouTube allows uploads and comment replies through the YouTube Data API, within 10,000 quota units per project per day.

• Uploads have their own bucket of 100 per day per project.
• A comment or reply costs 50 units.
• Comments on other channels’ videos are possible through the API, but YouTube’s Developer Policies require the user’s approval before each action.
• There is no messaging API.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn allows posting through the Community Management API after vetting, but its Developer AI Policy (14 January 2026) forbids AI-generated comments and forbids using third-party comments as AI input. The development tier allows 500 requests per app and 100 per member per day.

Bluesky

Bluesky allows posting and replies through the AT Protocol, limited to 5,000 points per hour and 35,000 per day, where creating a record costs 3 points. Bluesky’s bot guidance asks bots to interact only when tagged, so comments on other people’s posts should be approved one by one.

What this means for an AI social media manager

An AI social media manager that follows these rules:

1. publishes on all eight platforms through official APIs, not browser automation;
2. replies automatically to comments and DMs only where the platform allows it, inside the 24-hour or 48-hour window;
3. comments on other people’s posts automatically only on Threads, asks for approval on YouTube and Bluesky, comments on Instagram only where the brand is mentioned, and never comments on LinkedIn;
4. keeps a daily cap, spacing and duplicate checks below each platform’s limits.

The reply windows above shape how automatic comment and DM replies work on each platform.

Sources

Official documentation, checked 13 October 2026:

• Instagram: content publishing, comment moderation, private replies, rate limits, mentions, hashtag search (developers.facebook.com/documentation/instagram-platform)
• Facebook Pages posts (developers.facebook.com/documentation/pages-api/posts) and Messenger send messages
• Threads: overview, keyword search, create replies (developers.facebook.com/documentation/threads)
• TikTok: content sharing guidelines, direct post reference (developers.tiktok.com); TikTok Business Messaging (respond.io, secondary)
• X: API pricing and manage posts (docs.x.com), X Automation Rules (help.x.com)
• YouTube: quota cost, developer policies (developers.google.com/youtube)
• LinkedIn: Community Management API overview and Developer AI Policy (learn.microsoft.com/linkedin)
• Bluesky: rate limits (bsky.network/docs/rate-limits) and bot guidance (docs.bsky.app)