Free tools/Social content
Caption length and hashtag checker
See whether a caption fits before you post it: character and hashtag limits, tags that break or repeat, links that will not click, and how much people see before 'more'. It covers seven platforms, updates as you type and never sends your text anywhere.
Free, no sign-up, and it runs in your browser
- 2,014 characters left
Of 2,200 characters allowed in an Instagram caption.
- 6 of 30 hashtags
More than 30 hashtags and the post will not publish.
- Repeated hashtags
#brunch appears more than once. Repeats count towards the limit and add nothing.
- Hashtags that will break early
A hashtag ends at the first hyphen, apostrophe or full stop, so these will link as #self.
- Most of this is behind "more"
Only about the first 125 characters show in the feed. Put the hook and any call to action there.
Approximate: the exact cut depends on the screen and the line breaks.
What it does
Every platform enforces its own limits, and a caption that fits one can fail on the next. Instagram allows 2,200 characters and up to 30 hashtags, with about 125 characters showing before 'more'. TikTok allows 4,000 characters; a YouTube description 5,000, with up to 60 hashtags; a LinkedIn post 3,000; a Threads post 500 with one topic tag; a Facebook post 63,206; and an X post 280, where every link counts as 23 characters and emoji as two.
The checker counts the way each platform does. It flags hashtags that break partway through, tags used twice, and links that will appear as plain text, and it shows what readers see before the cut. Only rules the platforms actually enforce are checked; folklore is left out. Everything happens in your browser as you type, in English, Arabic or both.
How to use it
- Choose the platform the caption is for.
- Paste or write the caption.
- Fix anything flagged: too long, too many hashtags, broken or repeated tags, or links that will not click.
- Make sure the hook and the call to action sit inside the part that shows before the cut.
Questions, answered
How many hashtags can an Instagram post have?
Thirty is the ceiling for an Instagram caption, and a post with more will not publish. Using all thirty is another matter: the platform's own guidance has favoured a few relevant tags, and there is no published figure that performs better.
Is there a list of banned hashtags?
No official list exists. Platforms quietly restrict hashtags linked to spam or rule-breaking and update them without announcement, so any published list is guesswork. A simple test: if a hashtag's page shows no recent posts, it is likely restricted, so drop it.
Why does my hashtag stop halfway?
The tag ends at the first character that is not a letter, a digit or an underscore. So #self-care becomes a link to #self, and #brand's becomes #brand. The checker highlights any tag that breaks like this.
Why is the X count different from the character count?
Because X weighs characters differently. Any link counts as 23 characters regardless of its length, and emoji, along with characters from scripts such as Chinese or Japanese, count as two each. Select X and the checker applies the same weighting.
Does an emoji count as one character?
Almost everywhere, yes. The checker counts each emoji you see as one, including those with skin tones. The exception is X, which counts them as two.
Do Arabic hashtags work?
Yes, in the same way as English ones, and the checker reads them. Captions in Arabic and English together reach both audiences in the Gulf.
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