Instagram
TikTok
LinkedIn
X
Facebook
Threads
Bluesky
YouTube
Pinterest
Google Business Profile2,200 characters for posts, Reels and carousels. Spaces, line breaks and emojis all count, and Mydrop's editor flags anything longer before it publishes.
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Free Instagram character counter
Instagram allows 2,200 characters, and about the first 125 show before "more".
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 Instagram counts
2,200 is a hard cap
Instagram refuses a caption over 2,200 characters on posts, Reels and carousels. Spaces, line breaks and emojis all count.
About 125 show before "more"
The feed cuts the caption after about 125 characters, and Reels show even less. Lead with the hook, never with hashtags.
5 hashtags per post
Instagram lowered the hashtag cap from 30 to 5 per post or Reel. Keep the five that describe the post best.
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.
- 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.
Reference
Every character limit in one table
The limits Mydrop checks before it publishes a post, network by network.
| Network | Character limit | Seen before "more" | Hashtags | How it counts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,200 | About 125 | 5 per post | 1 per character | |
| TikTok | 2,200 via the API (4,000 typed in the app) | Varies | Inside the limit | Emoji = 2 |
| 3,000 | About 210 (140 on phones) | Inside the limit | 1 per character | |
| X | 280 (longer with Premium) | Full post shown | Inside the limit | Emoji = 2, link = 23 |
| 63,206 (Reels: 2,200) | Varies | Inside the limit | 1 per character | |
| Threads | 500 | Full post shown | 1 topic tag | 1 per character |
| Bluesky | 300 | Full post shown | Inside the limit | 1 per character |
| YouTube | 5,000 (description; title 100) | First lines | First 3 show above the title | 1 per character |
| 800 via the API (500 in Pinterest's editor) | Varies | Inside the limit | 1 per character | |
| Google Business Profile | 1,500 | Varies | Not used | 1 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.
Write it, check it, post it
This counter is built into Mydrop
In Mydrop's editor every caption is counted per network as you type. When one network owns the limit, the editor names it and gives that network its own version in one click.
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Questions
Character limits, answered
5 per post or Reel. Instagram cut its old cap of 30 down to 5, so pick the five most relevant tags.
About the first 125 characters in the feed, and fewer on Reels and small phones. Put your hook there.
No. Reels captions share the same 2,200-character limit, but even fewer characters show over the video, so the hook matters more.
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.
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.
Yes. No signup, no limit, and your text never leaves your browser.
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