Caption and hashtag checker
Paste a caption and see it against the platform’s own limits: characters, hashtags, repeated or broken tags, links that will not click, and how much shows before “more”. Seven platforms, checked as you type, nothing sent anywhere. Free, no sign-up.
- 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 each platform allows
These are the limits the platforms enforce. Anything that is folklore rather than a rule is left out of the checks.
| Platform | Characters | Hashtags | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,200 in a caption | Up to 30 | More than 30 hashtags and the post will not publish. About 125 characters show before "more". Links are not clickable. | |
| TikTok | 4,000 in a caption | No limit | Links are not clickable. |
| YouTube | 5,000 in a description | Up to 60 | Over 60 hashtags and YouTube ignores every hashtag on the video. The first three show above the title. |
| 3,000 in a post | No limit | ||
| X | 280 in a post | No limit | Links count as 23, emoji as 2. |
| Threads | 500 in a post | Up to 1 | Threads takes one topic tag per post. |
| 63,206 in a post | No limit |
What the checks cannot tell you
- The first line does the work. Most people read what shows before the cut and nothing else. The hook and the call to action go there.
- A few relevant hashtags beat thirty loose ones. They tell the platform what the post is about; filler tags tell it nothing.
- Arabic and English together reach both audiences in the Gulf. Hashtags in Arabic work the same way, and the checker reads them.
- Put links where they work. On Instagram and TikTok that is the bio or a story link, not the caption.
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Try it freeCommon questions
How many hashtags can I use on Instagram?
Up to 30 in a caption. A post with more will not publish. Whether 30 is a good idea is a separate question: the platform's own advice has been to use a few relevant ones, and there is no published number that does better.
Is there a list of banned hashtags?
Not an official one. Platforms restrict hashtags that attract spam or break their rules, and they change them without publishing a list, so any list you find is somebody's guess. If a hashtag's page shows no recent posts, it is probably restricted: leave it out.
Why does my hashtag stop halfway?
A hashtag ends at the first character that is not a letter, number or underscore. #self-care links as #self, and #brand's links as #brand. The checker flags these.
Why is the X count different from the character count?
X counts every link as 23 characters whatever its length, and counts emoji and characters from scripts like Chinese or Japanese as two. The checker counts the way X does when X is selected.
Do emoji count as one character?
On most platforms, yes: the checker counts one per emoji as you see it, including emoji with skin tones. X is the exception, as above.