Quick reference: X/Twitter 280 characters (25,000 for Premium subscribers), Instagram captions 2,200 characters (but only ~125 show before "more"), LinkedIn posts 3,000 characters (~140 before truncation in feed), Facebook posts 63,206 characters (practically unlimited, but ~477 before truncation), TikTok captions 2,200 characters, Threads 500 characters, YouTube descriptions 5,000 characters, Pinterest descriptions 500 characters.
Why the "visible before truncation" number matters more than the hard limit
Almost every platform lets you write far more than what actually displays before a "See more" or "...more" link appears. Writing to the hard limit is rarely the goal — writing a strong hook within the visible preview window is what actually gets a post read, since most people never tap "see more."
- X/Twitter: 280 chars hard limit — all of it typically shows, no preview truncation
- Instagram: 2,200 char hard limit, but only about 125 characters show before "more" in feed
- LinkedIn: 3,000 char hard limit, only about 140 characters show before the feed truncates
- Facebook: 63,206 char hard limit, roughly 477 characters show before truncation
- Threads: 500 char hard limit, generally shows in full
- TikTok: 2,200 char hard limit for captions, but only the first couple of lines show without tapping
Why word count and character count aren't the same thing
A word count tool alone won't tell you if you're within a platform's limit, since character count (including spaces and punctuation) is what platforms actually enforce — not word count. A sentence with short words fits more into 280 characters than the same word count made of long words. This is exactly why checking both matters before you paste a caption into a platform and get an unexpected truncation warning.
Check before you post
WordWise counts words, characters, sentences and reading time in real time as you type, plus shows you exactly where you stand against each platform's social character limits and keyword density — so you know before you hit publish, not after. It runs entirely in your browser, free, with no signup.