Glossary
Character limit
A character limit is the most text a platform accepts in one post. X allows 280 characters (25,000 with Premium); a LinkedIn post allows 3,000.
A character limit is the maximum number of characters a platform accepts in a single post. Each network sets its own, and the limit decides when a post has to be cut, split into a thread or moved to a longer format.
The limits today
| Where | Limit |
|---|---|
| X post | 280 characters |
| X post with Premium (longer posts) | 25,000 characters |
| X image description (alt text) | 1,000 characters |
| LinkedIn post | 3,000 characters |
| LinkedIn article | 125,000 characters |
Example
This post is 109 characters long in a plain text editor:
"We cut our onboarding from 9 steps to 3. Here is what we removed and why: https://example.com/blog/onboarding"
On X it counts as 97: the link counts as 23 characters, whatever its real length (it is 35 here). On LinkedIn it counts as written.
On X
X counts characters with weights. Latin letters (and the letters of many other alphabets), digits and everyday punctuation count as 1. Every emoji counts as 2, whatever it is made of (skin tones and family sequences included). Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters count as 2, as does any character outside the ranges X weights as 1. Every link counts as 23, because X wraps links in its t.co shortener. Media attached to a post does not count. With X Premium you can write longer posts of up to 25,000 characters; X Help notes that a longer post cannot be saved as a draft or scheduled on the web, and that accounts mentioned after the first 280 characters are not notified.
On LinkedIn
A LinkedIn post can contain up to 3,000 characters; a LinkedIn article allows up to 125,000. In the feed, a long post is shortened with a "...more" link, so the opening lines decide whether people read on.
Counting before you post
A text editor counts every character as 1, so its number can differ from X's. Check with a counter that uses the platform's own rules: the free Twitter character counter applies X's weights, and the LinkedIn character counter covers posts and profile fields. In the Postopus editor, each platform tab shows its own count and limit, and an X draft that runs over can be split into a thread in one click.
Sources
- X Developer Platform, Counting characters (280, weights, links as 23).
- X Help, About different types of Posts (longer posts, 25,000 characters, their limits).
- X Help, How to write great image descriptions (1,000 characters).
- LinkedIn Help, Differences between posting updates and publishing articles (3,000 and 125,000 characters).
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