TikTok caption counter
2,200 characters, counted in the one unit no other platform uses — UTF-16, where every emoji costs two and a family emoji costs eleven.
2,200 UTF-16 units — an emoji costs 2
2,200 left
- Words
- 0
- Sentences
- 0
- Graphemes
- 0
- UTF-8 bytes
- 0
The TikTok character limit
A TikTok video caption is limited to 2,200 characters, counted in UTF-16 units, so every emoji costs 2.
- TikTok's Content Posting API states the cap in a unit no other platform uses: “The maximum length is 2200 in UTF-16 runes.” In practice that is JavaScript's string length.
- Counting in UTF-16 units means an emoji costs 2 and a family emoji costs 11 — the opposite of Bluesky, where the same emoji costs 1.
- Hashtags and @ mentions are matched inside the caption itself and count in full towards the 2,200.
- A photo post is measured differently: its title is capped at 90 UTF-16 units and its description at 4,000.
- Links in a caption are not clickable for most accounts, so the characters they cost usually buy nothing.
Tier differences
What happens if you go over the limit on TikTok
In the app
The caption field stops accepting input at the cap, and anything pasted beyond it is dropped before you post.
Through the API
The Content Posting API rejects the request for a field over its maximum length and no post is created.
Character limits on every platform
The same post is a different length on every network. This is the full comparison, with the document each number comes from.
| Platform | Limit | Paid tier | How it counts | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| X (Twitter) | 280 | 25,000Premium | Links cost 23 · emoji and CJK cost 2 | X developer docs — Counting characters ↗ |
| Bluesky | 3003,000 bytes | — | Counts graphemes — an emoji is 1 | AT Protocol lexicon — app.bsky.feed.post ↗ |
| Threads | 500 | — | 500 characters · an emoji costs its UTF-8 bytes | Meta developer docs — Threads posts ↗ |
| Mastodon | 500default, per server | — | Links cost 23 · mentions drop the domain | Mastodon docs — Posting ↗ |
| 3,000 | — | Plain characters · the feed folds at ~210 | LinkedIn Help — Post and share updates ↗ | |
| Instagram caption | 2,200 | — | 2,200 characters · 30 hashtags · 20 @ tags | Meta developer docs — IG User Media (caption) ↗ |
| Facebook post | 63,206 | — | 63,206 characters · folds at ~477 | Meta developer docs — Pages API Posts (no limit published) ↗ |
| TikTok caption — this page | 2,200 | — | 2,200 UTF-16 units — an emoji costs 2 | TikTok for Developers — Content Posting API ↗ |
Last verified: September 8, 2026 · TikTok for Developers — Content Posting API ↗
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TikTok questions
What is the character limit for a TikTok caption?
2,200 characters for a video caption. TikTok's Content Posting API states the cap as “2200 in UTF-16 runes”, which is the same as a JavaScript string's length — so an emoji costs 2 rather than 1.
Do hashtags and mentions count towards the TikTok limit?
Yes, in full. Hashtags and @ mentions are matched inside the caption itself, so a wall of hashtags takes characters straight out of the 2,200.
Is the limit different for a TikTok photo post?
Yes. A photo post splits the text in two: a title capped at 90 UTF-16 units and a separate description of up to 4,000. Only the video caption gets the flat 2,200.
Why does my emoji-heavy caption run out early on TikTok?
Because TikTok counts UTF-16 units. Every emoji costs at least 2, and a multi-part emoji such as 👨👩👧👦 costs 11 — the same emoji costs 1 on Bluesky and 2 on X.
Counters for the platforms next to this one
Or start from the character counter hub, which counts your draft against all eight platforms at once.