Free tool by Mydrop, no signup

Free social media character counter

X gives you 280 characters, Instagram 2,200, LinkedIn 3,000. Check one post across all 10 networks at once.

0/ 2,200 characters
Fits on Instagram2,200 leftInstagram allows 5 hashtags per post

Hashtags 0Mentions 0Emojis 0Words 0Lines 0

Instagram counts every letter, space, emoji and line break as 1.

About the first 125 characters show on Instagram before "more". Put your hook there.

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How every network counts

Each network counts its own way

X counts most emojis as 2 and every link as 23. TikTok counts emojis as 2. The others count every character as 1.

Spaces and line breaks count everywhere

A blank line is a character too. Long stacks of empty lines eat the limit and push the "more" cut higher.

Write the hook first

Instagram shows about 125 characters before "more" and LinkedIn about 210. Put the point in the first line on every network.

Example: “New spring menu drops Friday. The first 50 orders get a free matcha 🍵” = 69 characters on Instagram

Limits checked on October 10, 2026, against each network's rules and the limits Mydrop's editor enforces.

Mydrop data

How long should a caption be? Past 80 characters, it barely matters.

We measured 4,848 posts on 336 accounts connected to Mydrop, over 180 days to September 2026. Each post is scored against its own account's median, so a global brand and a local shop compare fairly.

Engagement vs the account's typical post

under 80 characters702 posts−9%
80-150 characters521 posts+3%
150-300 characters914 posts±0%
300-600 characters1,632 posts±0%
600+ characters1,079 posts+1%
  • Captions under 80 characters earned 9% less engagement than the account's typical post.
  • Captions of 80 to 150 characters did best, 3% above.
  • From 150 to 600+ characters, length moved engagement by 1% or less.

Method and every Mydrop benchmark

Reference

Every character limit in one table

The limits Mydrop checks before it publishes a post, network by network.

NetworkCharacter limitSeen before "more"HashtagsHow it counts
Instagram2,200About 1255 per post1 per character
TikTok2,200 via the API (4,000 typed in the app)VariesInside the limitEmoji = 2
LinkedIn3,000About 210 (140 on phones)Inside the limit1 per character
X280 (longer with Premium)Full post shownInside the limitEmoji = 2, link = 23
Facebook63,206 (Reels: 2,200)VariesInside the limit1 per character
Threads500Full post shown1 topic tag1 per character
Bluesky300Full post shownInside the limit1 per character
YouTube5,000 (description; title 100)First linesFirst 3 show above the title1 per character
Pinterest800 via the API (500 in Pinterest's editor)VariesInside the limit1 per character
Google Business Profile1,500VariesNot used1 per character

Where the "more" cut lands depends on the screen and the line breaks, so treat those figures as a guide. The character limits are hard limits: the network refuses anything longer.

Link to this counter

Writing a guide or teaching a class? Paste this link.

Social Media Character Counter by <a href="https://mydropai.com/tools/social-media-character-counter/">Mydrop</a>

Questions

Character limits, answered

Instagram 2,200, TikTok 2,200 through a scheduler (4,000 in the app), LinkedIn 3,000, X 280, Facebook 63,206, Threads 500, Bluesky 300, YouTube 5,000 for a description, Pinterest 800 through the API and Google Business Profile 1,500.

Yes. Most emojis count as 1 on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook, but combined emojis (skin tones, families) count as several. TikTok and X count most emojis as 2. Switch network above to see each rule.

Yes, on every network. A line break counts as one character, and so does every space.

X weighs characters: most emojis and Chinese, Japanese or Korean characters count as 2, and every link counts as 23 whatever its length.

On accounts connected to Mydrop, captions of 80 to 150 characters did best (3% above the account's typical post) and captions under 80 did worst (9% below). Past 150 characters, length barely changed engagement.

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