Social media character limits in 2026: every network in one table

Every social network caps how much text you can put in a post, and the caps are all different. X stops you at 280 characters. LinkedIn gives you 3,000. Facebook lets you write a novella. Get it wrong and the network rejects the post, your scheduler throws an error, and the slot you planned goes empty.

This page lists the social media character limits for thirteen networks as of 2026 in one table, with notes on the exceptions that catch people out. Each row links to a free character counter for that network.

The table

Network	Character limit	Notes	Counter
X (Twitter)	280	4,000 for X Premium subscribers	X character counter
LinkedIn	3,000	Applies to profile and company page posts	LinkedIn character counter
Instagram	2,200	Caption limit	Instagram character counter
Facebook	63,206	Page posts; effectively unlimited for normal use	Facebook character counter
Threads	500	Multi-part threads supported	Threads character counter
Bluesky	300	Shortest limit of the major networks	Bluesky character counter
Mastodon	500	Default; each instance can set its own	Mastodon character counter
Telegram	4,096	1,024 for captions on media	Telegram character counter
Discord	2,000	Per message	Discord character counter
Reddit	40,000	Text post body	Reddit character counter
Pinterest	500	Pin description	Pinterest character counter
YouTube	5,000	Video description	YouTube character counter
TikTok	2,200	Caption limit	TikTok character counter

Limits change. Networks raise them, add paid tiers with longer limits, and quietly adjust how they count. Treat the table as a 2026 snapshot and test on your own account if a post is close to the line.

Network by network

X (Twitter): 280, or 4,000 with Premium

The 280 limit still applies to most accounts. X Premium subscribers can post up to 4,000 characters, but readers see a truncated version with a "show more" link, so the first 280 still do most of the work.

If you post the same text to X and a long-form network, write the X version first. It is far easier to expand a tight 280 than to cut a 1,500-character LinkedIn post down.

LinkedIn: 3,000

LinkedIn's 3,000-character limit applies to both personal profile posts and company page posts. In practice, LinkedIn collapses the post after the first few lines, so the opening sentence matters more than the total length. Use the room for substance, not for padding.

Instagram: 2,200

Instagram captions cap at 2,200 characters. Like LinkedIn, the feed shows only the first line or two before a "more" link. Hashtags count toward the limit.

Facebook: 63,206

Facebook Page posts allow 63,206 characters, which is more than anyone should use. The practical constraint is reader attention, not the limit. A scheduler will not stop you, so set your own ceiling.

Threads: 500

Threads posts are capped at 500 characters, and the network supports multi-part threads for longer content. Threads is one of the four networks where splitting a long post into a chain is the normal pattern.

Bluesky: 300

Bluesky's 300-character limit is the tightest in this table. It is 20 more than X, which sounds generous until you realise most X-sized posts fit and most Threads-sized posts do not. If Bluesky is in your mix, it sets the ceiling for any text you plan to cross-post unchanged.

Mastodon: 500 by default, but check your instance

Mastodon's 500-character limit is a default, not a rule. Each instance administrator can raise it, and some run limits of several thousand characters. The number that matters is the one on the instance you post from. Before relying on a longer limit, check your instance's about page or post a test.

Telegram: 4,096 for text, 1,024 for media captions

Telegram channel posts take up to 4,096 characters of text. Attach an image or video and the caption drops to 1,024. This trips up a lot of people who write a long post, add a picture at the last moment, and get a rejection. If you need the full text and an image, send the image separately or lead with text.

Discord: 2,000

Discord messages, including those sent through channel webhooks, are limited to 2,000 characters. Longer announcements need to be split into multiple messages.

Reddit: 40,000

Reddit text posts allow a 40,000-character body. Titles have their own, much shorter limit, so keep the headline tight and put the detail in the body.

Pinterest: 500

Pin descriptions cap at 500 characters. The first line or so appears in the feed, so put the keyword and the point up front.

YouTube: 5,000

YouTube video descriptions allow 5,000 characters. Only the first couple of lines appear before the fold. Timestamps, links and credits go below.

TikTok: 2,200

TikTok captions cap at 2,200 characters, the same as Instagram. Most high-performing captions are far shorter, but the room is there for context and hashtags.

Writing once for several networks

If you cross-post, the limits above turn into a workflow.

Write for the shortest network first. If Bluesky (300) or X (280) is in your set, draft to that length. Then expand for LinkedIn, Facebook or Telegram rather than cutting down.

Use threads where the network supports them. X, Bluesky, Mastodon and Threads all handle multi-part posts. A 900-character idea becomes a three-part thread on those four and a single post on LinkedIn. Postfree supports threads on exactly those four networks, and its free thread splitter breaks long text at sentence boundaries for you.

Watch media captions. Telegram's 1,024-character caption limit is the clearest example, but any network that treats image captions differently from text posts deserves a test.

Count the way the network counts. Some networks count links, mentions and certain emoji differently from raw text. A generic word processor count will be off. Use a counter built for the specific network, or paste into the network's own composer and watch its counter.

Let your scheduler warn you. A good scheduler stores the per-network limit and flags a post before it is scheduled, not after it fails. If it does fail, the scheduler should show the network's own error message so you know whether it was length, a media problem or an expired token.

FAQ

What happens if I go over the character limit?

The network's API rejects the post. In a scheduler, that shows up as a failed post with an error message. Some schedulers retry automatically, which helps with temporary network errors but not with a post that is simply too long; you have to shorten it and reschedule.

Why does Mastodon have different limits on different servers?

Mastodon is decentralised. The software ships with a 500-character default, but each server administrator can change it. Two people on different instances can have different limits, and a post that fits on one may be rejected if cross-posted to another.

Do emoji and links count as one character?

Not always. Some networks count certain emoji as two characters, and some normalise links to a fixed length regardless of how long the URL is. The behaviour differs by network and changes over time. Use a network-specific counter and test on your own account for edge cases.

Is the X limit 280 or 4,000 in 2026?

Both. Standard accounts get 280. X Premium subscribers get 4,000, with the post collapsed after the first part in the timeline. If your audience is reading on the timeline, write as if 280 is still the limit.

If you want these limits enforced while you write, Postfree builds them into its composer for every network it publishes to, including TikTok and YouTube captions, and splits long posts into threads on X, Bluesky, Mastodon and Threads. You can sign up for the free plan at https://postfree.app/signup (no credit card).