"500 characters or fewer." We've all seen that message — on job applications, social media, meta tags. This page is a quick-reference guide for every character limit you'll run into.
📋 Social Media Limits
| Platform | Character Limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| X (Twitter) | 280 | CJK characters count as 2 |
| Instagram Caption | 2,200 | Preview shows ~125 |
| Facebook Post | 63,206 | Effectively unlimited |
| YouTube Title | 100 | Under 60 recommended for SEO |
| YouTube Description | 5,000 | First 150 matter most |
| LinkedIn Post | 3,000 | First 140 visible before "see more" |
| TikTok Caption | 2,200 | Recently expanded from 300 |
📋 Resume & Cover Letter Limits
| Item | Typical Limit | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Cover letter | 250–400 words | Keep it to one page. Recruiters spend ~7 seconds |
| Resume summary | 50–100 words | Lead with your strongest qualification |
| LinkedIn headline | 220 characters | Front-load keywords |
📋 SEO Character Guide
| Element | Recommended Length | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Page title | 50–60 characters | Avoids truncation in search results |
| Meta description | 150–160 characters | Shows fully in search snippets |
| H1 heading | 20–70 characters | Clear and keyword-focused |
| Blog body | 1,500+ words | Google tends to favor comprehensive content |
| URL slug | 3–5 words | Short and descriptive |
Characters ≠ Bytes
Databases and APIs often enforce byte limits, not character limits.
| Character Type | 1 char = UTF-8 Bytes |
|---|---|
| English / numbers | 1 byte |
| Accented (é, ñ) | 2 bytes |
| CJK (中, 한, あ) | 3 bytes |
| Emoji 😀 | 4 bytes |
SMS: 160 English characters = 1 message, but only 70 CJK characters = 1 message. It's measured in bytes, not characters.
4 Tips for Writing Under a Limit
1. Cut filler words — "Very," "really," "actually" rarely change the meaning. Remove them first.
2. Lead with the point — When space is tight, put the most important message in the first sentence.
3. Break long sentences — Splitting one long sentence into two short ones often removes unnecessary conjunctions and connectors.
4. Check as you write — Monitoring count in real-time is far more efficient than writing first, then trimming.
Check Your Character Count Now
Paste your text to see character count (with/without spaces), word count, and byte count in real time. Perfect for crafting social media posts, meta tags, or application essays.