Understanding Character Limits Across Social Media Platforms
Every platform sets its own character limit, and they don't always mean the same thing — some count links and mentions differently, and some limits apply to captions while others apply to bios.
The short-form platforms
X (Twitter) posts cap at 280 characters, while bios are limited to 160. Threads gives you a bit more room at 500 characters per post.
The long-form platforms
Facebook technically allows over 60,000 characters per post, but only the first couple of lines show before "See more" — so your effective limit for engagement is much shorter than the technical one. LinkedIn posts cap at 3,000 characters.
Bios and bylines are usually the tightest limit
Instagram and TikTok bios are both capped around 150 and 80 characters respectively — tight enough that every word needs to earn its place.
When you're writing copy that needs to fit several platforms at once, checking each limit individually is slow. A character counter with built-in platform presets lets you see all of them update live as you type, so you can trim once instead of re-checking each site by hand.
Key takeaways
- X posts cap at 280 characters; Threads gives you 500.
- Facebook's technical limit is huge, but only the first couple of lines show before "See more."
- Bios are almost always tighter than post limits — check both before publishing.
✍️ Check your own word count, grammar, and platform limits — free, right in your browser.
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