Count your YouTube characters
Free real-time counter with the 70-char search truncation indicator and the 157-char above-the-fold hint built in.
Quick Answer: All Limits at a Glance
Every YouTube character limit, in one table. Bookmark this page - YouTube tweaks display behavior more often than caps.
| Field | Limit |
|---|---|
| Video title | 100 chars |
| Video description | 5,000 chars |
| Comment | 10,000 chars |
| Community post | 5,000 chars |
| Channel description | 1,000 chars |
| Shorts title | 100 chars |
| Tags (combined) | 500 chars |
| Hashtags per video | 15 hashtags |
| Channel name | 100 chars |
| Custom URL / handle | 30 chars |
| Playlist title | 150 chars |
| Playlist description | 5,000 chars |
YouTube Title Limit (100 Characters)
YouTube video titles can be up to 100 characters. The cap has been stable since YouTube's early years. What changes is how YouTube displays titles: in 2026, search results, suggested-video tiles, end-screens, and notifications all truncate around 70 characters on most viewports.
The technical cap (100) and the practical SEO cap (~70) are different things. The technical cap is what YouTube accepts; the practical cap is what viewers actually see at the click decision moment. Optimize for 70.
The 70-Character Search Truncation
When a viewer scrolls a YouTube search result page, suggested-video sidebar, or homepage feed, only the first ~70 characters of your title are visible. The rest of the title exists, but the viewer cannot read it without clicking through.
The strategic move: front-load the keyword and the value proposition into the first 55-65 characters. Treat characters 65-100 as “watch page only” bonus content - useful for the watch page where the full title appears, useless for click decisions.
Title patterns that fit in 70 characters
- 1. “How I [outcome] in [time]” - 45-55 chars, leaves room for context
- 2. “[Number] [thing] every [audience] should know” - listicle pattern
- 3. “The [adjective] way to [verb] [thing]” - claim-driven hook
- 4. “Why [counterintuitive claim] - and what to do instead”
YouTube Description Limit (5,000 Characters)
Descriptions can be up to 5,000 characters. That is roughly 800-900 words - enough room for an entire article. Most creators do not use anywhere near this much, but the cap exists for podcast-style channels, tutorial creators with extensive resource lists, and creators who include full transcripts.
The catch: only ~157 characters of the description appear above the “Show more” fold on the watch page. Everything past that is invisible until the viewer clicks. That makes the first 157 characters disproportionately important.
The 157-Character Above-the-Fold Rule
The watch-page description shows approximately 157 charactersbefore YouTube hides the rest behind a “Show more” link. Most viewers never click. The first 157 characters are doing the work of the entire description for the average viewer.
Best use of those 157 characters:
- One-sentence hook that complements (not repeats) the title.
- Primary keyword in plain language. Helps search ranking and matches viewer expectations.
- Single CTA link if you have one (newsletter, sponsor, related video).
Everything past character 157 is for engaged viewers who click “Show more”. Use that space for chapter timestamps, full link list, equipment / book references, related videos, sponsor disclosure, and longer context.
Comments and Community Posts
- Comments (10,000 characters): Both top-level and reply comments share the 10,000-char cap. Real engagement happens in the first 280 characters; longer comments bury the point. Comments with questions or genuine reactions consistently get more replies than essays.
- Community posts (5,000 characters): Channels with 500+ subscribers can post to the Community tab. Posts under 280 characters outperform longer ones in the feed. Image and poll posts engage 2-3x higher than text-only.
- Comment moderation: Channel owners can pin comments, hold for review, and block. Hidden comments still count against the cap if you reply later.
Channel Description and Custom URL
- Channel description (1,000 characters): The first ~150 characters appear in search snippets and the channel About preview. Lead with what the channel is about, who it is for, and your upload schedule.
- Channel name (100 characters): Display name across YouTube. Changeable but only twice per 14-day period.
- Custom URL / handle (30 characters): youtube.com/@yourhandle format. Handles are unique across all of YouTube; once claimed, the URL is permanent unless you change it.
YouTube Shorts Title Limits
Shorts share the 100-character title cap with long-form videos. The display difference: Shorts shelf tiles and the Shorts feed only show about 40 characters before truncation. The hook has to land harder and faster than long-form.
Shorts-specific considerations:
- Add #shorts as a hashtag in the description if relevant - does not affect ranking but helps discoverability for some viewers.
- Vertical 9:16 format only. Horizontal videos uploaded as Shorts get auto-cropped, often badly.
- Shorts under 30 seconds tend to outperform 30-60 second Shorts on retention.
- The same title can appear on a Short and a long-form video; they are tracked separately in analytics.
Tags and Hashtags (15 Hashtag Cap)
Tags: 500 characters total across all tags combined. Each tag should be 1-3 words. YouTube has publicly stated that tags carry minimal ranking weight in 2026 - title, description, and viewer signals (CTR, retention, session duration) dominate. Use 5-10 focused tags as a soft signal; do not invest time in tag-stuffing.
Hashtags: Up to 15 per video. Above 15, all hashtags are ignored. Best practice: 2-3 highly relevant hashtags placed in the description. The first 3 hashtags from the description display above the title automatically; you do not need to add them to the title separately.
A working hashtag pattern
- 1 niche-specific hashtag (#nextjs15)
- 1 broader category hashtag (#webdev)
- 1 trend or community hashtag if relevant (#100daysofcode)
- Skip generic mega-hashtags like #youtube, #subscribe
Title and Description Best Practices
Front-load keywords in the title
First 55-65 characters control search ranking and click decisions. Keywords later in the title carry less weight.
Make the first 157 chars of the description count
Everything past 157 chars hides behind “Show more”. Use those characters for hook, primary keyword, and one CTA.
Title and thumbnail must reinforce one promise
If they say different things, click-through rate suffers. Match the visual claim and the verbal claim.
Cut filler words ruthlessly
“Actually”, “really”, “in 2026”, “a guide to” - all wasteful. Replace with concrete value.
Use 2-3 hashtags, not 15
Targeted hashtags help. Stacking 15 dilutes the topic signal. Below 15 there is no penalty for using fewer.
Count your YouTube characters before you upload
Real-time counter with the 70-char search truncation indicator, the 157-char above-the-fold hint, and every YouTube limit built in.
Open YouTube Character CounterFrequently Asked Questions
YouTube titles are capped at 100 characters. The cap has been stable for years. What has changed is how YouTube displays titles: search results and suggested-video tiles truncate around 70 characters on most layouts, so the practical SEO limit is 70 even though the technical cap is 100.
Approximately 157 characters appear above the fold on the watch page before the 'Show more' link. The exact cutoff varies by device and viewport, but 157 is a reliable planning target. Most viewers never click 'Show more' so those first 157 characters do most of the work.
Tags carry minimal ranking weight in 2026. YouTube has publicly stated that title, description, and viewer signals matter far more. Use 5-10 focused tags as a soft signal, but do not invest in tag-stuffing strategies. The 500-character total cap on tags makes aggressive tagging counterproductive anyway.
YouTube recognizes up to 15 hashtags per video. Above 15, all hashtags are ignored. Best practice in 2026 is 2-3 highly relevant hashtags placed in the description (not the title). Hashtags placed above the title display the first 3 from the description automatically.
Shorts share the same 100-character title limit as long-form videos. The difference is display: Shorts shelf tiles and the Shorts feed only show approximately 40 characters before truncation. Front-load the hook even harder for Shorts than for long-form.
Yes. Emojis typically count as 2-4 characters each due to Unicode encoding. A title like 'Best React tips 🚀' uses approximately 18 characters, not 14. Test long titles in the tool to see the exact count.
Channel names are capped at 100 characters. The custom URL (handle) is limited to 30 characters. Channel descriptions cap at 1,000 characters, of which the first ~150 appear in search snippets and the About preview.