LinkedIn character counter — 3,000 post limit, 140-character "see more" cut
LinkedIn has five different character limits across posts, articles, headlines, about-sections and comments — and a mobile "see more" cut at roughly 140 characters that most advice ignores. Paste your draft, pick the right field, and the counter shows both the hard limit and the truncation line live.
LinkedIn's character limits are a bigger trap than people realize because there is not one — there are at least seven, and the "good post length" number has changed three times in the last three years. Posts cap at 3,000 characters, but the feed collapses at 140 on mobile and 210 on desktop, so everything past the cut is only seen by people who tap "see more". Headlines are 220, profile About is 2,600 (truncated at 370), articles are 110,000. The counter on this page switches between all of these — paste your draft once, toggle the field, and see every cap and truncation point applied in real time. Where the engagement data points matter, we mark the ideal range on each slider so you can aim for the sweet spot, not the ceiling.
Every LinkedIn character limit, in one table
Hard caps, visible-in-feed truncation, and engagement sweet spots for each LinkedIn field.
| Field | Hard limit | Visible in feed | Ideal range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post | 3,000 | ~140 | 1000–1500 |
| Headline | 220 | — | 80–120 |
| About section | 2,600 | ~370 | — |
| Article title | 150 | — | — |
| Article body | 110,000 | — | — |
| Comment | 1,250 | — | — |
| Company description | 2,000 | — | — |
What counts as one character on LinkedIn
Letters are easy. Emoji, URLs, hashtags, and line breaks are where platforms disagree. Here is how LinkedIn counts them.
| Content | Counts as | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Letter, number, space, punctuation | 1 character | — |
| Emoji | 1 character (grapheme) | LinkedIn counts emoji by grapheme cluster — matches what you see on screen. |
| Hashtag (#example) | Actual length including # | — |
| Mention (@Person) | Actual length including @ + name | — |
| URL | Actual length — LinkedIn auto-previews but does not shorten | — |
| Line break | 1 character | — |
| Bold / italic formatting (Unicode) | Actual length | LinkedIn does not render HTML formatting, so creators use Unicode bold/italic characters — these count normally by grapheme. |
Writing to the LinkedIn post budget
LinkedIn posts have the highest "ceiling vs practical" gap of any social platform. The ceiling is 3,000. The actual engagement sweet spot is much lower. Here is where to aim and why.
Aim for 1,200–1,500 characters for narrative posts
LinkedIn's own algorithm engagement data (and Shield/Favikon studies) keeps landing on 1,200–1,500 as the sweet spot for personal-profile posts — enough room for a real story, short enough to read in the feed.
Break the hook across the first two lines
Mobile shows roughly the first 140 characters (~2 short lines) before "…see more". Put a complete first thought in line 1 and a cliffhanger in line 2 — this is the actual expand-rate driver.
Use line breaks aggressively — LinkedIn respects them
Unlike Instagram, LinkedIn does not strip consecutive blank lines. A wall of text tanks readability. Short 1–3 line paragraphs with whitespace between them are the format that wins.
Keep headlines under 120 characters
The 220 cap applies in search, but the profile card itself truncates the headline at around 120 on mobile. Keywords placed after that point still help search, but they don't show on the card.
Use 3 hashtags, not 10
LinkedIn de-prioritizes posts that look like keyword-stuffed spam. Three focused hashtags is the current engagement-optimal range.
What people use the LinkedIn counter for
LinkedIn-specific workflows from the creators and teams using this tool.
Writing posts that land the hook above "see more"
The mobile feed shows ~140 characters before the expand link. Draft with that marker visible and you can split the hook / body cleanly — which is the whole game for LinkedIn engagement.
Polishing a 220-character headline for recruiters
Headlines are the most searchable field on LinkedIn. Packing job title + stack + target keyword into 220 characters without looking stuffed takes rewriting. Use the counter to cut and test.
Drafting a company page description that fits the 2,000 cap
Company About sections have a hard 2,000 cap — strictly less than personal profiles. Paste your draft, see the remaining count, trim to fit without losing the positioning.
Turning a thread into a single LinkedIn post
A 5-tweet thread usually fits inside one LinkedIn post. Paste each segment, check you're under 3,000, add whitespace between them, and you have a proven LinkedIn format.
LinkedIn character counter — FAQ
What is the LinkedIn post character limit in 2026?+
3,000 characters for both personal profile posts and Company Page posts. Comments are separately capped at 1,250 characters, which catches people out because comments are often longer than tweets but shorter than posts.
How long should a LinkedIn post actually be?+
Engagement studies from Favikon, Shield Analytics, and LinkedIn's own creator docs land consistently on 1,200–1,500 characters for narrative posts and 400–600 characters for commentary/question-style posts. The 3,000 cap is a ceiling, not a goal.
Where does LinkedIn cut off my post with "see more"?+
At roughly 140 characters on mobile (the majority of LinkedIn traffic) and around 210 characters on desktop. Whatever sits before that cut is what decides if anyone taps expand. The hook has to live there.
How many characters is the LinkedIn headline?+
220 characters. The full 220 is searchable, but the headline card on mobile truncates the display at roughly 120. Keywords placed between 120 and 220 help with recruiter search but don't show on the profile card — worth knowing when you're optimizing.
What about the About section on my profile?+
The personal About section caps at 2,600 characters and collapses after ~370 with a "…see more" expand. The first 370 is the part that sells you. Company Pages have a separate About limit of 2,000 characters.
Do hashtags count toward the 3,000 character limit?+
Yes. Hashtags count character-for-character, including the # symbol. Most engagement studies recommend three focused hashtags — the algorithm has moved away from rewarding heavy hashtag use and LinkedIn itself suggests this in its creator guidance.
Can I use bold or italic text on LinkedIn to save space?+
LinkedIn does not parse HTML formatting, so creators use Unicode bold/italic characters (e.g. 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁). These render in most browsers and apps, and they count by grapheme — one visible character, one character against the limit. Accessibility tools sometimes mis-read Unicode formatted text, so use sparingly.
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