Social Media Character & Image Limits in 2026
X gives free users 280 characters (Premium unlocks 25,000), LinkedIn caps at 3,000, and Threads offers 500 + a free 10,000-character text attachment. Image limits range from 4 photos on X to 20 on Instagram and Threads. This guide has every number you need.
You're mid-post, the words are flowing, and then — your text gets cut off. Or worse, you paste an image and it gets cropped into something unrecognizable. Every platform has different character limits and image rules, and they keep changing.
Here's the full breakdown of every social media character limit, image spec, and video rule for 2026. Bookmark this one.
Every Platform at a Glance
| Platform | Post limit | Bio | Images per post | Video max length | Key gotcha |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X (free) | 280 chars | 160 chars | 4 | 140 seconds | URLs count as 23 chars |
| X (Premium) | 25,000 chars | 160 chars | 4 | 4 hours | Basic ($3/mo) also gets long posts |
| 3,000 chars | 120 chars | 20 | 15 minutes | Only ~140 chars before "See More" | |
| Threads | 500 chars | — | 20 | 5 minutes | Free 10K text attachment |
| 2,200 chars | 150 chars | 20 | 20 min (Reels) | 125 chars before cutoff | |
| 63,206 chars | 101 chars | 10 (carousel) | 240 min | Shorter posts perform better | |
| TikTok | 4,000 chars | 80 chars | — | 10 minutes | 150-char comment limit |
| YouTube | 5,000 (desc.) | 1,000 chars | — | 12 hours | Only 70 chars show in search |
| 500 chars | 160 chars | — | 15 min | 100-char title limit |
X (Formerly Twitter): The Tiered System
X has the most complicated limit structure of any platform because it changes based on your subscription tier. Here's exactly what you get at each level.
Character limits by tier
| Feature | Free | Basic ($3/mo) | Premium ($8/mo) | Premium+ ($40/mo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Post length | 280 chars | 25,000 chars | 25,000 chars | 25,000 chars |
| Long-form Articles | No | No | No | Yes |
| Bold/italic formatting | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Edit posts | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Blue checkmark | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Full | Full | 50% fewer | Nearly none |
Even on the Basic plan at $3/month, you unlock 25,000-character posts. That's a big jump from 280 for a low price. But you won't get the verification checkmark until Premium ($8/month).
Image and video specs
- Images per post: 4 maximum
- Image file size: 5 MB (JPG/PNG), 15 MB (GIF)
- Best image dimensions: 1200 x 675px (16:9) for single images
- Video length: 140 seconds (free), up to 4 hours (Premium)
- Video file size: 512 MB (free), up to 2 GB (Premium), 16 GB (Premium+, web/iOS)
- Video resolution: Up to 4K for Premium subscribers
- Android video limit: 10 minutes max regardless of subscription
One big advantage of Premium: less compression on images. Free accounts get noticeable quality loss, especially on detailed graphics and screenshots.
Special counting rules
These trip up even experienced X users:
- URLs always count as 23 characters, regardless of actual length. A 5-character link and a 200-character link both use exactly 23 characters because X's t.co shortener wraps everything.
- Emojis count as 2 characters each due to Unicode double-width encoding.
- @mentions in replies don't count toward the limit (only the initial auto-filled ones — manually typed mentions elsewhere do count).
- Attached images, GIFs, and videos use zero characters. Media attachments are free.
- Spaces count as 1 character each. Line breaks also count.
Thread hacks: bypassing 280 for free
Don't want to pay for Premium? Threads (the X kind, not Meta's app) are your best friend.
How X threads work: You can chain up to 25 posts at once, each with its own 280-character limit. That gives you 7,000 characters for free — enough for a solid long-form piece.
Thread tips that actually work:
- Write the full text first, then break it into chunks. Don't write tweet-by-tweet — you'll lose the narrative flow.
- Make each post standalone. Individual tweets in a thread can get retweeted, liked, or quoted independently. Each one should make sense on its own.
- Hook hard on tweet #1. Most people decide whether to read the thread based on the first post alone.
- Use numbering (1/7, 2/7) to help readers follow along and signal how long the thread is.
- Put your best insight in the last tweet. People who read to the end are your most engaged audience — reward them.
The screenshot workaround: Write your text in a notes app, screenshot it, and post the image. This bypasses text limits entirely but kills accessibility (screen readers can't read it) and makes your content unsearchable. Use sparingly.
LinkedIn: Posts, Articles, and Carousels
LinkedIn's limits are more generous than X, but the real limit isn't the character count — it's the "See More" fold.
Post limits and the fold
- Post character limit: 3,000 characters (increased from 1,300 in June 2023)
- "See More" cutoff: ~140 characters on mobile (~210 on desktop)
- Sweet spot: Posts between 1,300-2,500 characters tend to perform best
- Comments: 1,250 characters
- Articles: ~110,000 characters (basically unlimited for practical purposes)
That ~140-character mobile preview is everything. Your hook needs to land before the fold, or nobody clicks "See More." Front-load your best line.
Other LinkedIn character limits
| Field | Limit |
|---|---|
| Headline | 220 chars |
| About/Summary | 2,600 chars |
| Direct Messages | 8,000 chars |
| Connection request note | 300 chars |
| InMail subject | 200 chars |
| InMail body | 2,000 chars |
| Company tagline | 120 chars |
| Company description | 2,000 chars |
| Poll question | 140 chars |
| Poll option | 30 chars each |
Image and carousel specs
- Images per post: Up to 20 (displayed as a carousel)
- Best single image size: 1200 x 627px (landscape) or 1080 x 1080px (square)
- Carousel/document format: PDF, PPT, PPTX, DOC, DOCX
- Carousel file size: Up to 100 MB
- Carousel page limit: Up to 300 pages (but 8-12 slides is the sweet spot)
- Best carousel dimensions: 1080 x 1080px (square) or 1080 x 1350px (portrait, 4:5)
Pro tip: LinkedIn carousels with fewer than 5 slides tend to underperform significantly. Aim for 5-10 slides for best reach — according to third-party analyses, 10-slide carousels get significantly more reach than 3-slide ones.
Video specs
- Max video length: 15 minutes from desktop (10 min from mobile)
- Max file size: 5 GB (organic posts)
- Best dimensions: 1920 x 1080px (16:9)
- Native video significantly outperforms YouTube links in posts for engagement
Threads: The Generous Newcomer
Meta's Threads is now the most generous text-first platform — especially since they added text attachments.
Character limits
- Post limit: 500 characters
- Text attachments: Up to 10,000 characters — free, no subscription needed
- How it works: Text attachments display as a separate expandable section below your main post. They don't count toward the 500-character limit.
Compare that to X, where you need to pay at least $3/month for long posts. Threads gives you 10,000 characters for free. That's a significant advantage for long-form text content.
Image and video specs
- Images per post: Up to 20 (carousel format)
- Best image size: 1080 x 1350px (4:5 portrait) or 1080 x 1920px (9:16 vertical)
- Max image width: 1440px (1080px is the standard target)
- Video length: Up to 5 minutes
- Video file size: Under 8 MB recommended
- Video orientation: Vertical (9:16) performs best
- Mixed carousels: You can mix photos and videos in the same carousel
Every Other Platform: Quick Reference
- Caption: 2,200 characters (125 chars before "more" button)
- Carousel: Up to 20 slides (photos and/or videos)
- Reels: 3 seconds to 20 minutes (algorithm favors under 90 seconds)
- Stories: 60 seconds per story segment
- Hashtags: 30 max per post
- Bio: 150 characters
- Best image size: 1080 x 1350px (4:5) for feed posts
- Post: 63,206 characters (shorter posts consistently perform better)
- Ad headline: 40 characters
- Ad primary text: 125 characters
- Comments: 8,000 characters
- Bio: 101 characters
TikTok
- Caption: 4,000 characters
- Comments: 150 characters
- Bio: 80 characters
- Username: 24 characters
- Video: Up to 10 minutes
YouTube
- Title: 100 characters (70 visible in search)
- Description: 5,000 characters
- Channel bio: 1,000 characters
- Comments: 10,000 characters
- Pin description: 500 characters
- Pin title: 100 characters
- Bio: 160 characters
- Board description: 500 characters
Pro Tips: Work Within the Limits
Emoji counting matters. Standard emojis count as 2 characters on most platforms. Complex emojis (flags, skin-tone variants) can count as 4-7 characters on LinkedIn. One flag emoji could eat your connection request note's 300-character limit faster than you'd think.
Whitespace counts everywhere. Spaces, line breaks, and paragraph spacing all eat into your character budget. Those "LinkedIn poems" with a line break after every sentence? Each one costs you a character.
Front-load your hook. LinkedIn shows ~140 characters before the fold. Instagram shows 125. Threads shows your full 500. X shows all 280. Design your opening line for whichever platform you're posting to.
Schedule for the right time. Character limits matter, but so does timing. When you schedule posts with Postory, you can plan your content calendar across platforms and make sure each post hits when your audience is online.
Use a tool that handles it for you. When you're writing posts in Postory, your content adapts to each platform's tone and formatting automatically. No more manual reformatting per platform.
Post to Every Platform Without the Guesswork
Keeping track of character limits, image sizes, and video specs across 8+ platforms is a headache. Postory handles the formatting for you — write once, and your post is tailored for each platform's style and format.
Try Postory free — create content for X, LinkedIn, and Threads without worrying about character counts.
FAQ
Q: What is the character limit for X (Twitter) in 2026?
Free X accounts have a 280-character limit per post. X Basic ($3/month), Premium ($8/month), and Premium+ ($40/month) subscribers all get 25,000 characters per post, plus text formatting options like bold and italic.
Q: How many images can you post on each social media platform?
X allows 4 images per post. LinkedIn, Threads, and Instagram all support up to 20 images in a carousel format. Facebook doesn't have a strict image limit for posts but displays them in a gallery grid.
Q: Does Threads have a higher character limit than X?
For free users, yes. Threads gives you 500 characters per post plus a free 10,000-character text attachment. On X, free users are limited to 280 characters — you'd need at least a Basic subscription ($3/month) to post longer content.
Q: Do URLs count toward the character limit on X?
Yes, but every URL counts as exactly 23 characters regardless of its actual length. X's t.co link shortener wraps all URLs uniformly. A 10-character link costs the same as a 200-character one.
Q: What's the LinkedIn "See More" cutoff?
LinkedIn truncates posts after approximately 140 characters on mobile (~210 on desktop), showing a "See More" button. Your hook needs to land within those first 140 characters to earn the click on any device.
Q: How long can videos be on each platform?
X allows 140 seconds for free users and up to 4 hours for Premium subscribers. LinkedIn caps videos at 15 minutes (10 min from mobile). Threads allows 5 minutes. Instagram Reels can be up to 20 minutes (though under 90 seconds performs best). TikTok allows up to 10 minutes. YouTube allows up to 12 hours.
Q: Do emojis count as more than one character?
Yes, on most platforms. Standard emojis count as 2 characters due to Unicode encoding. Complex emojis like flags or skin-tone variants can count as 4-7 characters. This matters most on platforms with tight limits like X (280 chars) and LinkedIn connection requests (300 chars).
Q: What image dimensions work best across all platforms?
1080 x 1350px (4:5 portrait) is the most versatile size — it works well on Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn carousels. For X and LinkedIn single-image posts, use 1200 x 675px (landscape, 16:9). Always check platform-specific specs for best results.