PostDashPro
X counts 280 characters, and each http:// or https:// link counts as 23. LinkedIn counts 3,000. Instagram and TikTok count 2,200. Threads counts 500. Bluesky counts 300. Paste a caption to see the count, the characters left, and the hashtags on every network PostDashPro publishes to.
Count a caption
Hashtags: 0 (0 unique). None yet.
| Network | Count | Limit | Left |
|---|
Limits and how each network counts
| Network | Character limit | How a character is counted | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| X | 280 | Weighted: most Latin-script characters count 1, CJK and emoji count 2. Each http(s) link counts as 23 | Rule |
| 3,000 | Each character counts 1; most emoji count 2 | Rule | |
| 2,200 | Each character counts 1; most emoji count 2. Also at most 30 hashtags. | Rule | |
| Threads | 500 | Each character counts 1; each emoji counts its byte length, usually 4. At most 5 links. | Rule |
| Bluesky | 300 | Each visible character counts 1, including a whole emoji. Lexicon maxGraphemes 300. The record also sets maxLength 3000. | Rule |
| TikTok | 2,200 | Each character counts 1; most emoji count 2 | Rule |
| 63,206 | Each character counts 1; most emoji count 2. Meta publishes no official figure; this is the long-reported cap. | None published | |
| YouTube | 5,000 | Counted in bytes: plain English counts 1, accented letters 2, CJK 3, emoji 4. Video description. No < or > allowed. | Rule |
| 800 | Each character counts 1; most emoji count 2. Pin description. | Rule | |
| Telegram | 4,096 | Each character counts 1; most emoji count 2. 1,024 when the message is a photo or video caption. | Rule |
| Discord | 2,000 | Each character counts 1; most emoji count 2 | Rule |
| Mastodon | 500 | Each visible character counts 1, including a whole emoji. Each http(s) link counts as 23. Default server limit; some servers allow more. | Rule |
How the count works
- X uses a weighted count: Latin, Greek, Cyrillic and most punctuation count 1, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and other scripts count 2, and any emoji counts 2, even one built from several emoji.
- On X and Mastodon, each link that starts with
http://orhttps://counts as 23 characters, however long the URL is. X also shortens a bare domain such asexample.com; this counter only shortens links that start with http:// or https://, so a bare domain can read a little high. - Bluesky and Mastodon count visible characters, so a family emoji or a flag counts 1. Mastodon counts
@name@serveras@name. - Threads counts each emoji at its byte length, usually 4. YouTube counts the whole description in bytes and refuses
<and>. - Every other network counts string length, so most emoji count 2.
- A hashtag starts with #, is not stuck to the letter or number before it, and continues through letters, numbers and underscores.
#cafécounts.word#tagdoes not. A # inside a link does not. - The same hashtag with different capital letters counts once toward the unique total and once each toward the raw total.
Schedule the caption when it fits: X scheduler, LinkedIn scheduler, Instagram scheduler.
Frequently asked questions
Where do these character limits come from?
They are each network's published limit, checked on 2026-11-01. The table links each rule. The PostDashPro composer enforces the same caps, except Pinterest, where it stops at 500. X is 280, and each link that starts with http:// or https:// counts as 23 characters there. LinkedIn is 3,000, Instagram and TikTok are 2,200, Threads is 500, and Bluesky is 300.
How are emoji and hashtags counted?
Each network counts its own way. X weighs most emoji and CJK characters as 2 and every link as 23. Bluesky and Mastodon count what you see, so one emoji, even a family or a flag, is 1, and Mastodon counts every link as 23. Threads counts each emoji at its byte length, usually 4, and YouTube counts the whole description in bytes. The other networks count string length, where most emoji count 2. A hashtag is a # that is not glued to a preceding letter, number or underscore, followed by letters, numbers or underscores. Links are removed before the hashtag scan, so a URL fragment is not a hashtag. Instagram's published cap is 30 hashtags, and Threads' is 5 links. A Telegram photo or video caption is 1,024 even though a text message can be 4,096. No other hashtag cap is applied.
Do I need an account?
No. The count runs in your browser. The caption is not uploaded.
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