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freeno login2,200 Unicode code pointsVerified by Tal Weiss

Instagram character counter

Counts the way Instagram counts, and shows you the exact text that gets cropped. Nothing you type or attach leaves your browser.

Instagram436 / 2,200 Unicode code pointsfits above the fold

Instagram can't publish without an image or a video.

Counted in Unicode code points: one plain character is one, and a link costs its full length.

samrivera· now
Instagram needs an image or videoAttach one below and it renders here.
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samrivera
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Nothing you type or attach leaves this tab - no upload, no account, no server.

What actually costs characters on Instagram

The 2,200 characters are the caption, and hashtags are part of it: 30 is the ceiling and every one of them is spent out of the same 2,200. Instagram counts code points, so an emoji built from several of them can cost more than the one glyph you see. There is no text-only post here at all - a caption without an image or a video is not something the API will accept.

Three posts Instagram cuts

  1. The hashtag wallA 400-character caption followed by 30 hashtags.Within the limit, but the hashtags took about 450 characters of the 2,200 - and at 31 the post is refused outright.
  2. A carousel caption written as a scriptOne paragraph per slide, ten slides.Past 2,200 the caption is cropped, and the crop lands at the end - the slides you wanted people to swipe to lose their captions first.
  3. A PNG from the design toolAn export straight out of the canvas.Refused before the caption matters. The publishing API takes JPEG only, so the file is the error, not the words.

Only on Instagram

  • JPEG only - the publishing API rejects PNG.
  • At most 30 hashtags, counted inside the 2,200-character caption.
  • A single video publishes as a Reel.
  • A hard cap of 100 API-published posts per rolling 24 hours.

Questions

Is this Instagram character counter free?
Yes. There is no login and no upload: it runs entirely in your browser, and nothing you type or attach leaves your device.
How long can an Instagram post be?
2,200 characters. Counted in Unicode code points: one plain character is one, and a link costs its full length.
Do hashtags count toward the 2,200-character Instagram caption?
Yes. Up to 30 hashtags are allowed and every one of them is spent out of the same 2,200 characters, so a large tag block is a real chunk of the caption. Putting the tags at the end keeps them out of the two lines the feed shows.
What happens if an Instagram post goes over the limit?
Instagram crops or refuses it. The counter marks the exact tail that would be lost, so you can cut the right words instead of guessing.

Where these numbers come from: our sourced Instagram spec page, every figure carrying its citation and the date we last checked it.

Ready to post it? Schedule Instagram posts for free, or follow the step-by-step guide.

Every free tool

We built these because our own agents count against exactly these limits before they publish. Let them write the post too.