Caption length checker

Character limits per platform (2026)

Platform	Maximum	Visible before see-more
Instagram	2,200 characters	~125 characters
Facebook	63,206 characters	~480 characters
LinkedIn	3,000 characters	~140 characters
X (Twitter)	280 characters	280 characters
TikTok	4,000 characters	~150 characters
Pinterest	500 characters	~75 characters

How long should a caption ideally be?

Instagram: 138-150 characters, or longer captions with a story.

Facebook: 40-80 characters.

LinkedIn: 1,300-2,000 for thought leadership.

X: 71-100 characters.

TikTok: 100-150 characters.

How do you read the result?

While you type or paste, the checker counts along live for six platforms at once. Every bar stays green as long as you are within the limit, turns orange when you get close and red as soon as you go over. Also watch the second indicator: "truncated after X characters". That is the point where a platform hides your text behind a read-more button — and that is where most readers drop off. The practical rule: put your core message and your call to action before that cut-off point, and use the space after it for context, details or hashtags. That way the same caption works just as well on Facebook (short and direct) as on LinkedIn (where long is fine).

One text, five channels

The real work is not counting, but rewriting the same message for each platform. How to approach that sensibly is covered in our blog article One idea, five channels. Feel free to combine this checker with the hashtag generator and the caption formula checker from our free social media tools. Or skip the copy-and-paste work altogether: let Buddy create your posts automatically — it writes the right length for each platform straight away.