# Social media character counter: every network's caption limit

> Markdown version of https://postlake.dev/tools/character-counter . The canonical page for humans.
> PostLake is the social media API for AI agents: https://postlake.dev/llms.txt
> Every number below is generated from the registry PostLake's publish path
> validates against, so it cannot state a limit the API would not enforce.

A free browser tool that counts one caption against every major social
network's real limit at the same time. No account, and the text never leaves
the browser.

Use it at https://postlake.dev/tools/character-counter

## Caption limits by network

| Network | Caption limit | By post type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| X | 280 | same for every post type | no title field |
| Bluesky | 300 | same for every post type | no title field |
| Threads | 500 | same for every post type | no title field |
| Pinterest | 500 | same for every post type | no title field |
| TikTok | 2,200 | 2,200 with video, 4,000 with photos | 90 characters |
| Instagram | 2,200 | same for every post type | no title field |
| LinkedIn | 3,000 | same for every post type | no title field |
| YouTube | 5,000 | same for every post type | 100 characters |
| Facebook | 63,206 | same for every post type | no title field |

## What counts as a character

Most networks count what you see: one emoji is one character, and a link
counts its full length. X is the exception and counts differently:

- Every link counts as exactly 23 characters, however long the URL is. A very
  long tracking URL costs the same as a short one.
- Most emoji and most non-Latin characters count as two.

A counter that ignores this tells you that you have room you do not have,
which is the one thing a counter must never do.

## Limits that change with the post type

Some networks apply a different limit depending on what is attached.

- **TikTok**: 2,200 characters on a video post, 4,000 on a photo post.

## Title fields

A caption is not the only text field. Some networks take a separate title,
with its own limit.

- **TikTok**: 90 characters, on image posts.
- **YouTube**: 100 characters, on video posts.

## Doing this in code instead

PostLake validates caption length per network before it publishes and before
it charges, and returns the overflow and the fix rather than a raw platform
error. Docs: https://docs.postlake.dev/quickstart

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Free tools, no signup: https://postlake.dev/tools/ · Plain markdown for agents: https://postlake.dev/llms.txt
Canonical page: https://postlake.dev/tools/character-counter