Free X tool
Tweet Mockup and Preview
A standard X post never folds: 280 characters is a hard stop rather than a preview. The mockup shows the post in full and marks anything past the ceiling in red.
Last updated: 2026-08-03
X is the exception on this list. Nothing is hidden behind a "more" control on a standard post, because a standard post cannot be long enough to need one: 280 characters is where the composer stops accepting text. The preview question here is not "what gets cut" but "does this fit, and does it read".
Two details change the arithmetic. Every link counts as 23 characters no matter its length, so shortening a URL before you paste it saves you nothing. And X Premium raises the ceiling to 25,000 characters, at which point posts longer than 280 do collapse behind a "Show more" toggle in the timeline, which is usually an argument for a thread instead.
This mockup lays the post out in the 16:9 shape the timeline crops images to, with a name and handle line, and marks any tail past 280 characters in red so you can see exactly how much has to go. Nothing you type or upload leaves your browser.
260 of 280 characters on X (Twitter)
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.
X (Twitter) preview
Postify @postify
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Nothing folds on X (Twitter), so this card shows the whole post. A standard post never folds. Premium posts longer than 280 characters collapse behind a "Show more" toggle in the timeline.
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)This page | 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.
X (Twitter) preview tips
- Treat 280 as a design constraint rather than a limit to hit. The posts that travel are usually well under it, because a short post is easy to quote.
- Count links at 23 characters. A 180 character tracking URL and a 20 character short link cost exactly the same on X, so paste whichever one you would rather a reader see.
- Attach media instead of describing it. Images, videos and GIFs cost nothing against the 280, which makes a screenshot the cheapest way to add detail that will not fit.
- Crop images to 16:9 at 1600 x 900. The timeline crops every image to 16:9 until somebody taps, so anything else is shown as a slice of itself.
- Use 1 to 2 hashtags at most. On X a tag block reads as spam far more quickly than it does on Instagram or TikTok.
- If the idea needs more than 280 characters, build a thread rather than a Premium long post. The timeline still shows only the first 280 of a long post before "Show more", so threading keeps each idea visible.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a real X screenshot?
No. It is a neutral HTML approximation: a 16:9 media box matching the 1600 x 900 X recommends, a name and handle line, and generic action icons. There is no X branding or interface in the card, because a mockup that copied them would claim more accuracy than it has.
Will the post look exactly like this on my phone?
The text will be complete either way, because a standard post never folds. What varies by device is line wrapping and how the image is cropped in the timeline. If you have Premium, remember that posts longer than 280 characters collapse behind a "Show more" toggle in the timeline.
Where does the image I add go?
Nowhere. It becomes a local object URL rendered inside your browser. It is never uploaded to us and never reaches X until you post it yourself, and the URL is released when you replace the image or close the tab.
Can I download the tweet mockup as an image?
Not yet. The text copies with one button, but there is no picture export. A screenshot works: Cmd, Shift and 4 on macOS, or the Windows key with Shift and S on Windows, dragging a box around the card.
Why is part of my text red?
Because it is past 280 characters and X will not accept it on a standard account. Nothing folds on X, so the tail is not hidden text, it is text that cannot be published. Either cut it or split the post into a thread.
How are links counted here?
The preview counts characters as written. X itself rewrites every link through t.co and charges a flat 23 characters however long the original is, so a post with a very long URL may fit on X even when the raw count looks over. The character counter applies that 23 character weighting if you need the exact number.
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