Character Limits Reference
Character limits for text messages, chat apps, social media, email subject lines, SEO titles and ads – with notes on how each platform counts emoji and long texts. Check your own text with the character counter or the SMS character counter.
Jump to: SMS & chat · Social media · Email, SEO & ads · FAQ
Text messaging (SMS) & chat apps
| Platform / field | Limit (characters) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SMS – standard text | 160 | GSM-7 alphabet (letters, digits, basic punctuation). Longer texts are split into 153-character segments. |
| SMS – with emoji or non-Latin characters | 70 | Whole message switches to Unicode (UCS-2). Longer texts are split into 67-character segments. |
| Long (concatenated) SMS | ≈1,600 typical maximum | Up to 255 segments in theory; most SMS platforms and carriers cap around 10 segments or convert to MMS. |
| iMessage | No published limit | Internet message, not SMS – no 160-character split. |
| RCS chat | Much longer than SMS | Exact limit depends on the carrier/app; falls back to SMS segments if RCS is unavailable. |
| WhatsApp message | 65,536 | Very long messages are collapsed behind “Read more”. |
| WhatsApp text status | 700 | |
| WhatsApp “About” | 139 | |
| Telegram message | 4,096 | Longer text is split into several messages. |
| Telegram media caption | 1,024 | Higher with Telegram Premium. |
| Telegram bio | 70 | 140 with Telegram Premium. |
| Discord message | 2,000 | 4,000 with Nitro. |
| Slack message | 40,000 | Longer messages are truncated. |
Social media
| Platform / field | Limit (characters) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| X (Twitter) post | 280 | Premium subscribers can post up to 25,000. Emoji and CJK characters count as 2. |
| X bio | 160 | |
| X direct message | 10,000 | |
| Threads post | 500 | |
| Bluesky post | 300 | |
| Mastodon post | 500 | Default; each server can change it. |
| Facebook post | 63,206 | Feed shows roughly the first few lines before “See more”. |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 | About the first 125 characters show before “more”. The long-standing limit was 30 hashtags, but Instagram has been reported to cap posts at 5 since December 2025, so check the app. |
| Instagram bio | 150 | |
| Instagram direct message | 1,000 | Same for personal, creator and business accounts. |
| Instagram comment | 2,200 | |
| TikTok caption | 4,000 | |
| LinkedIn post | 3,000 | About the first 200 characters show before “…see more”. |
| LinkedIn headline | 220 | |
| LinkedIn About section | 2,600 | |
| LinkedIn comment | 1,250 | |
| Pinterest Pin title / description | 100 / 500 | |
| Reddit post title | 300 | |
| YouTube title / description | 100 / 5,000 | Titles get cut in search results after about 70 characters. |
Email, SEO & ads
| Platform / field | Limit (characters) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Email subject line | ~40–60 recommended | Mobile inboxes show roughly 30–40 characters; RFC 5322 limits a header line to 998 characters. |
| Email preheader (preview text) | ~40–130 | Depends on the client and subject length. |
| Google title link (title tag) | ~50–60 | Google truncates by pixel width (around 600 px on desktop), not by a fixed count. |
| Meta description | ~150–160 | Also truncated by pixel width; Google may rewrite it. |
| Google Ads responsive search ad headline | 30 | Up to 15 headlines per ad. |
| Google Ads description | 90 | Up to 4 descriptions per ad. |
| Google Ads display path | 15 each | Two path fields. |
| Meta (Facebook/Instagram) ad primary text | 125 recommended | Longer text is allowed but truncated. |
| Meta ad headline | 40 recommended |
Why SMS is limited to 160 characters
An SMS carries 140 bytes of text. Using the 7-bit GSM alphabet that is 160 characters; with 16-bit Unicode (needed for emoji, Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic and even curly quotes) it is 70. When you go over, the message is sent as several linked segments, each with a small header, which leaves 153 (or 67) characters per segment. Carriers and bulk SMS providers usually bill per segment. More detail and a live calculator: SMS character counter.
Tips for writing within a limit
- Front-load the message. Most platforms truncate long posts in the feed, so the first line must work on its own.
- Count with the right tool. Platforms count differently (X weights emoji as 2; SMS changes encoding).
- Watch pasted text. Curly quotes and long dashes from word processors add hidden Unicode to SMS.
- Use templates. See our 160-character SMS examples.
Frequently asked questions
What is the character limit for a text message?
A standard SMS is limited to 160 characters (GSM-7 encoding). If the message contains an emoji or other Unicode characters, the limit is 70. Longer texts are split into segments of 153 (or 67) characters and reassembled on the recipient's phone.
How many SMS is a 351-character text?
3 segments: 153 + 153 + 45 characters, assuming only standard GSM-7 characters. With one emoji it becomes 6 segments (67 per segment).
Do spaces count as characters?
Yes. On virtually every platform – SMS, X, Instagram, LinkedIn – spaces, line breaks and punctuation all count toward the limit.
Do emoji count as one character?
It depends. On X an emoji counts as 2. In SMS a single emoji switches the whole message to Unicode, cutting the limit from 160 to 70, and most emoji use 2 of those 70 units.
What does “the text cannot be longer than 65 characters” mean?
It's a form-field limit set by the website or app you're using (for example a title, subject or name field). Shorten the text to the stated number of characters – our character counter shows the exact count, including spaces.
What does “500 characters left” mean?
The website or form allows a fixed number of characters and that many remain. The website sets the limit, and every letter, space and punctuation mark uses one.
Does “no more than 140 characters” mean letters?
It means characters, which include letters, digits, spaces and punctuation. A 140-character limit therefore fits about 20 to 25 words.
What is a typical character limit for a free-text field?
It varies, but forms commonly allow 255, 500, 1,000 or 2,000 characters. The form usually shows its limit. Use a character counter to check your text before you paste it.
Limits last reviewed November 2026. Platforms change their limits from time to time – check the platform's own help pages for critical uses.