Free tool
Social Media Post Preview
Paste one caption and see it laid out the way each of the 8 networks lays it out, with the fold drawn where that network stops showing your words.
Last updated: 2026-08-03
Every network cuts a caption, and they cut it far earlier than the limit suggests. Pinterest shows about 50 characters of a description in the feed. TikTok shows roughly 100 over the video. Instagram folds at about 125 behind "... more", YouTube at 157, LinkedIn at 210 on desktop and closer to 140 on a phone, Facebook at about 477. Two networks do not fold at all: X stops a standard post at 280 and refuses more, and Threads shows all 500 characters it allows.
That means the number that decides whether your caption works is almost never the caption limit. It is the fold, and it is small enough that most captions get judged on their first sentence alone. This preview draws that line for you: type once, switch networks, and watch how much of the same paragraph each one is willing to show.
The card is a neutral mockup rather than a screenshot. It reproduces the three things that actually change where your words get cut, the shape of the media box, how the name line reads, and where the fold lands, without reproducing an interface that is not ours. Everything runs in your browser: the caption is never sent anywhere, and an image you add is shown from a local URL and nothing more.
260 of 2,200 characters on Instagram, 135 of them below the fold
Your image never leaves your browser. It is shown from a local object URL and nothing is uploaded to us. HEIC photos straight from an iPhone only decode in Safari, so export a JPEG copy first if yours will not appear.
Instagram preview
postify
Postify
We rebuilt our whole publishing routine this quarter and the biggest win was boring: one shared calendar the whole team can a... more
This is an approximation, not a screenshot. The feed collapses a caption after roughly 125 characters behind a "... more" link, so the opening line carries the hook. Write as if the fold sits earlier than the number and you will never be surprised by it.
Where each network folds a caption
The character limit is the ceiling. The fold is the number that decides how much of your caption a scrolling reader ever sees, and it is far smaller on every network that has one.
| Network | Folds at | What happens at the cut |
|---|---|---|
| ~125 charsBehind "... more" | The feed collapses a caption after roughly 125 characters behind a "... more" link, so the opening line carries the hook. | |
| ~477 charsBehind "See more" | Desktop folds a post behind "See more" after about 477 characters. Mobile folds earlier depending on screen width. | |
| Threads | No fold500 character cap | Each post in a chain gets its own 500 characters, so longer thoughts are split across replies rather than stretched. |
| ~210 charsBehind "...see more" | Desktop cuts the post at about 210 characters behind "...see more". Mobile folds closer to 140, so write for the tighter number. | |
| X (Twitter) | No fold280 character cap | A standard post never folds. Premium posts longer than 280 characters collapse behind a "Show more" toggle in the timeline. |
| TikTok | ~100 charsBehind "more" | Only about the first line shows over the video, roughly 100 characters, before the "more" toggle. The exact cut depends on screen width. |
| YouTube | ~157 charsBehind "...more" | The watch page shows roughly the first 157 characters of the description before "Show more", and that opening usually seeds the search snippet. |
| ~50 charsBehind "more" | Only the first 50 to 60 characters of the description appear under a Pin in the feed. The rest opens on the Pin page. |
Fold points verified 2026-07-31. Every one of them moves with screen width, text size and language, so treat them as close rather than exact.
Writing above the fold
Six of the eight networks here fold a caption, and they fold it early: Pinterest at about 50 characters, TikTok at 100, Instagram at 125, YouTube at 157, LinkedIn at 210 and Facebook at 477. You are always writing two things at once, a full caption and an opening that has to work on its own.
Put the claim in the first sentence
Not the setup, not the context, not the greeting. The sentence that would make someone stop has to be the one that survives the cut, because everything after it is behind a tap that most readers never make.
Never break a thought across the fold
A caption that stops mid-clause reads like a bug rather than like a teaser. Either finish the idea before the cut or place a deliberate cliffhanger there, but do not let the character count choose the break for you.
Push hashtags and credits to the end
A block of tags at the top spends the most valuable space on the page on text nobody reads as a sentence. Tags work the same anywhere in the caption, so they belong after the words that have to be seen.
The one thing no preview can do is tell you exactly where the cut lands on a given phone. The fold moves with screen width, with the text size a reader has chosen, and with the language: German runs longer than English for the same sentence and folds sooner. Treat every number on this page as a ceiling to write under rather than as a mark to write up to, and the caption reads the way you meant it on every device.
Previewing a post before you publish
- Write the first sentence for the fold, not for the caption. On six of these eight networks it is the only part a scrolling reader is guaranteed to see, so it has to make sense with nothing after it.
- Front-load the hook and back-load the context. Background, credits, links and disclaimers all read fine below the fold. A claim does not, because nobody taps to find out what you were claiming.
- Put hashtags at the end, always. They work identically wherever they sit in the caption, and a tag block at the top spends your most valuable 50 to 125 characters on text that reads as noise.
- Check the same caption on the tightest network you publish to. If it survives Pinterest at 50 characters and TikTok at 100, it survives everywhere else without further edits.
- Do not reuse one caption across all 8 networks unchanged. The folds are between 50 and 477 characters apart, so a caption tuned for LinkedIn arrives on TikTok with the useful part hidden.
- Leave yourself margin. The fold moves with screen width, text size and language, so a caption that lands exactly on the number on your laptop lands past it on a narrower phone.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a real screenshot of the network?
No, and it is not trying to be. It is an HTML approximation built from the published layout numbers: the media aspect ratio each network recommends, the way the name and handle line reads, and the point where the caption gets folded. There are no platform logos, colors or interface elements in the card, because copying those would make it look more accurate than it is.
Will the preview match what I see on my phone exactly?
Not to the character. Every fold on this page moves with screen width, with the text size a reader has chosen and with the language of the caption. Instagram folds at roughly 125 characters, LinkedIn cuts at about 210 on desktop but closer to 140 on mobile, and the TikTok cut depends on how wide the screen is. Write under the number rather than up to it and the difference stops mattering.
Where does my uploaded photo go?
Nowhere. The image is turned into a local object URL and drawn straight into the card inside the tab you are reading. It is not uploaded to us, it is not sent to any network, and the URL is released the moment you replace the image or close the page.
Can I download the mockup as an image?
Not yet. Copying the caption is one button, but exporting the card as a picture is not built. For now, a screenshot does the job: on macOS press Cmd, Shift and 4 then drag around the card, and on Windows press the Windows key, Shift and S. Expand or fold the caption first so the version you capture is the one you meant.
Which networks fold a caption and which do not?
Six fold: Pinterest at about 50 characters, TikTok at 100, Instagram at 125, YouTube at 157, LinkedIn at 210 on desktop, Facebook at about 477. Two do not: X never folds a standard post because 280 characters is a hard stop rather than a preview, and Threads shows the whole of its 500 character post.
Do I need an account to use this?
No. There is no signup, no email step and no connected account. The tool is plain JavaScript running in your browser, and closing the tab is all the cleanup there is.
Related free tools
Keep the rest of the checklist close: each tool works on its own, no account needed.
See every network before you hit publish
Postify supports nine platforms in one workflow: plan, schedule, and publish without juggling five different tools.