Free YouTube tool
YouTube Description and Title Character Counter
YouTube gives you 100 characters for the title, 5,000 for the description, and roughly 157 of those before the "Show more" fold.
Last updated: 2026-07-31
YouTube splits the job across two fields that behave very differently. The title takes 100 characters and carries almost all of the ranking weight. The description takes 5,000 and carries the context, the links, the timestamps and the credits.
Only about 157 characters of the description appear above the "Show more" fold on the watch page, and that same opening is usually what Google lifts into a search snippet. Anything you need a viewer or a crawler to see belongs in that first paragraph, not in the seventh.
Hashtags are capped at 15. Only the first three ever show above the video title, and going past 15 makes YouTube ignore every hashtag on the video rather than just the extras. The counter below measures the description; the title limit sits in the comparison table further down.
0 characters0 words0 hashtags0 mentions
YouTube
Fits0/ 5,0005,000 left
- Hashtags
- 0 / 15
- Recommended: 3 (only the first 3 show above the title)
- Mentions
- 0 used
- No published cap
- Fold
- ~157 chars
- Everything after this needs a tap to read
Go past 15 hashtags and YouTube ignores every hashtag on the video, not just the extras.
Preview on YouTube
Grey text sits below the fold, red text is past the limit.Start typing above and your caption appears here with the fold and any overflow marked.
The same caption everywhere else
Select a network to preview the fold and overflow for it above.
How YouTube compares to the other networks
The hard ceiling is rarely the number that matters. Here is where YouTube sits against every other network Postify publishes to, including the point each one folds your caption behind a "more" control.
| Network | Caption limit | Title limit | Hashtags | Mentions | Folds at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,200 | Not published | 30 maxUse 3 to 5 | 20 max | ~125 chars | |
| 63,206 | Not published | No fixed capUse 0 to 2 | No fixed cap | ~477 chars | |
| Threads | 500 | Not published | 1 maxUse 1 topic tag | No fixed cap | Not published |
| 3,000 | Not published | No fixed capUse 3 to 5 | No fixed cap | ~210 chars | |
| X (Twitter) | 28025,000 with Premium | Not published | No fixed capUse 1 to 2 | No fixed cap | ~280 chars |
| TikTok | 4,000 | 90 | No fixed capUse 3 to 5 | No fixed cap | ~100 chars |
| YouTubeThis page | 5,000 | 100 | 15 maxUse 3 (only the first 3 show above the title) | No fixed cap | ~157 chars |
| 500 | 100 | 20 maxUse 0 to 5 | No fixed cap | ~50 chars |
Limits verified 2026-07-31. Networks change these without much warning, so treat the fold numbers as close rather than exact.
YouTube caption tips
- Keep the title under about 60 characters if search matters to you. YouTube accepts 100, but most surfaces truncate the title long before that.
- Treat the first 157 characters of the description as the preview. Put the summary and the single most important link there.
- Timestamps become chapters only if the first one is 0:00 and there are at least three of them, each at least ten seconds apart.
- Cap hashtags at 15. Past that YouTube ignores all of them, and only the first three ever appear above the title anyway.
- Shorts use the same title and description fields as long-form videos, so a description written for search still earns its place on a 30 second clip.
Frequently asked questions
How many characters can a YouTube title have?
One hundred characters, including spaces. Search results, suggested videos and mobile home feeds all truncate earlier, typically somewhere between 60 and 70 characters, so the front of the title does the work.
How long can a YouTube description be?
Five thousand characters. That covers the summary, links, timestamps, credits and any disclosures. It is generous enough that the real constraint is the reader, not the field.
How much of a YouTube description is visible?
About 157 characters on the watch page before the "Show more" control, which is also roughly what Google shows in a search snippet. Everything below that point needs a deliberate click.
How many hashtags can I add to a YouTube video?
Fifteen. Only the first three appear above the video title, and if you add more than 15 YouTube ignores every hashtag on the video instead of trimming the list.
Do YouTube Shorts have different character limits?
No. Shorts use the same 100 character title and 5,000 character description as regular uploads. The difference is that far less of the description is visible in the Shorts player, so the title has to carry more.
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