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Social media character counter
Type or paste a caption to see its length on 8 platforms, counted the way each platform measures text. X weighs links and emoji, Bluesky counts graphemes, TikTok counts UTF-16 units, and YouTube counts bytes. These are the limits Voxpanda, an AI social media manager, checks before a post is queued.
- Instagram / 2,200
- Facebook Page / 63,206
- Threads / 500
- TikTok / 2,200
- X / 280
- YouTube description / 5,000
- LinkedIn / 3,000
- Bluesky / 300
Character limits by platform
| Platform | Limit | Counted as | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,200 | characters (Unicode code points) | Max 30 hashtags and 20 @ tags per caption. | |
| Facebook Page | 63,206 | characters (Unicode code points) | Voxpanda keeps Facebook captions to 0 to 3 hashtags. |
| Threads | 500 | characters (Unicode code points) | Per post. Voxpanda splits longer text into a numbered thread. |
| TikTok | 2,200 | UTF-16 code units | Most emoji count as 2 units. TikTok requires that you can edit the caption before posting. |
| X | 280 | weighted characters | Accounts without Premium. A link counts as 23, emoji and Chinese, Japanese or Korean characters count as 2. |
| YouTube description | 5,000 | UTF-8 bytes | Accented letters count 2 bytes, most emoji 4. Titles hold 100 characters. |
| 3,000 | characters (Unicode code points) | AI-generated content must be labeled. | |
| Bluesky | 300 | graphemes (characters as you see them) | An emoji or an accented letter counts as 1. |
Why counts differ between platforms
Platforms do not agree on what one character is. Instagram, Facebook, Threads and LinkedIn count Unicode code points. TikTok counts UTF-16 code units, so most emoji take 2. Bluesky counts graphemes, so a flag or a family emoji is 1. X gives links a fixed 23 and doubles emoji and Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters. YouTube descriptions are limited in bytes, so non-English text uses the limit faster. Which actions each platform allows through its API is covered in the social media API limits guide.
Threads and long text
A Threads post holds 500 characters. When text is longer, the counter shows how many posts the thread needs. Voxpanda cuts the text at a sentence break or a space and adds a number such as 2/3 to each part. What else Threads allows is listed under Threads automation limits.
Captions that fit every platform
Voxpanda writes one caption per platform from the same idea and runs this check before the post is queued. A caption that is too long is shortened once automatically and flagged if it still fails. The process is described on the AI captions page.
Questions
How does X count characters?
X counts a weighted length. A link counts as 23 characters whatever its length, emoji and Chinese, Japanese or Korean characters count as 2, and most other characters count as 1. Accounts without Premium have 280.
Do emoji count as one character?
It depends on the platform. An emoji counts as 2 on X, usually 2 UTF-16 units on TikTok, 1 grapheme on Bluesky, and usually 4 bytes in a YouTube description.
What happens to a Threads post longer than 500 characters?
A single Threads post holds 500 characters. Voxpanda splits longer text into a thread at sentence or word breaks and numbers each part, such as 1/3.
Does this tool save or send my text?
No. The count runs in your browser, and the text is not sent anywhere.
Does Voxpanda check these limits before posting?
Yes. Voxpanda runs the same check on every caption before it is queued. A caption over the limit is shortened once automatically, then flagged for editing if it still fails.