Paste your caption
Paste it as you’d post it, with emoji, line breaks, and hashtags.
Refract Creators / Caption character counter
Free editing tool
Caption character counter for TikTok, Instagram and YouTube
Paste your caption once and see whether it fits each app, how many hashtags it has, and what shows before “more”. Free, with no sign-up.
How it works
Check each app
See the count against TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and what shows before “more”.
Trim and copy
Cut what doesn’t fit, then copy it back into the app.
How to write a caption that fits everywhere
Each app has its own limits, and the first line does most of the work.
- Put the point in the first line.
Instagram shows roughly the first 125 characters before “more”, so lead with the reason to keep reading.
- Use no more than 5 hashtags on Instagram.
Instagram now allows up to 5 hashtags on a post. Pick the most specific ones.
- Keep YouTube titles under 100 characters.
Shorter is better: put the words people search for first.
- Emoji count as characters.
This counter counts each emoji once, the way people see it.
- Write one caption, then adjust.
Refract writes a version for each app from one idea, so you don’t have to trim the same caption three times.
Questions
How long can a TikTok caption be?
Up to 4,000 characters.
How long can an Instagram caption be?
Up to 2,200 characters, with up to 5 hashtags.
How long can a YouTube title and description be?
A title can be up to 100 characters and a description up to 5,000.
Is my caption saved or sent anywhere?
No. It’s counted in your browser and isn’t sent anywhere.
Is it free?
Yes. No account and no limit.
Get a caption for each app from one idea.
Refract writes TikTok hooks, Reels captions, and YouTube titles, each within its limit, free.