Use this page as a quick reference before approving copy. Some entries are hard platform limits, while others are practical display targets used by editors to avoid truncation. Always test the final version inside the destination platform before publishing.
Last updated: 2026-09-01
| Surface | Limit or target | Practical note |
|---|---|---|
| X / Twitter post | 280 | Treat 280 as a hard planning limit for standard posts. Put the point in the first 100 characters. |
| LinkedIn post | 3,000 | The preview matters more than the maximum. Make the first two lines carry the claim. |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 | Include hashtags in the count. Keep the hook and action before the tag block. |
| TikTok caption | 2,200 | Use captions to support the video. Do not hide the instruction after a long hashtag list. |
| YouTube title | 100 | Keep the searchable phrase near the front. Shorter titles usually scan better on mobile. |
| Meta description | 150 to 160 | A display target, not a ranking rule. Put the page promise early. |
| SEO title tag | 50 to 60 | Watch brand suffixes added by the CMS. Count the final rendered title. |
| Email subject | 30 to 50 | Mobile inboxes clip early. Lead with the offer, deadline or account action. |
| SMS single segment | 160 | GSM encoding only. Emoji and some punctuation may reduce the segment size. |
| Apple app name | 30 | Hard planning space for brand plus category. Count translated names separately. |
| Google Play title | 50 | Use the extra room for a clear category phrase, not keyword stuffing. |
| Google Play short description | 80 | Conversion copy. Name the task the app performs. |
| App Store subtitle | 30 | Use this for the clearest benefit or category after the app name. |
| YouTube description | 5,000 | Put links, credits and chapters after the opening value statement. |
How to use these numbers
Start by identifying whether the number is a rejection limit, a billing boundary or a display target. SMS, app names and many product fields are strict. Email subjects and metadata are usually about what the reader sees first. Social posts often allow long copy while hiding it behind a preview.
Paste the final draft into the character counter, record the count, then test the same copy in the platform composer. This two-step check catches both editorial problems and platform-specific rules.