Ad copy character limits on every platform, and which ones are only suggestions
The headline, description and primary text limits for Google Ads, Microsoft, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, Reddit and X, from each platform's own docs. Which numbers are hard caps, which are truncation advice, and how Chinese, Japanese, Korean and emoji are counted.
Every ad platform has a box for a headline and a box for the words under it, and every one of them measures those boxes differently. Some refuse a character over the line. Some take anything you type and cut it off in the feed. A few count a Japanese character as two. And the numbers people repeat in blog posts are often a few years old.
So here are the limits as each platform documents them today, with links, and a free ad copy length checker that counts your copy against all of them as you type.
Hard caps and recommendations are different things
Before the numbers, the one distinction that matters most. A hard cap means the platform will not accept the text: the field stops you, or the ad is rejected. A recommendation means the text is accepted, but the part past the number may be hidden behind a "See more" or an ellipsis.
They call for different decisions. Going over a cap is never an option. Going over a recommendation is a choice: fine for primary text where the first line carries the message, risky for a headline that only works whole.
Google Ads
For responsive search ads, Google's help page sets headlines at up to 30 characters, descriptions at up to 90, and each of the two display path fields at up to 15. One ad takes up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions.
For responsive display ads, Google's display specs allow headlines of 30, one long headline of 90, descriptions of 90 and a business name of 25.
These are limits, not suggestions. A 31-character headline is simply too long.
Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft's responsive search ads use the same shape: headlines of 30, descriptions of 90 and paths of 15, with 3 to 15 headlines and 2 to 4 descriptions per ad, per the ResponsiveSearchAd reference. The lengths match Google's. The counting does not always, which is the next section but one.
Meta
Meta is the platform people most often get wrong, because it publishes recommendations, not caps. Its guidance on text in ads recommends 125 characters for primary text, 40 for the headline and 25 for the description, and says text over the limit may be truncated, sometimes further on particular placements and devices.
The per-placement guide can be stricter. For an image ad in the Facebook Feed, Meta's ad specs suggest 50 to 150 characters of primary text and a 27-character headline.
So a 200-character primary text is not an error on Meta. It is a bet that people will read the first line and tap "See more" if they care. Write the first 125 characters as if they are the whole ad.
LinkedIn is the most helpful here, because it publishes both numbers for every field. From its single image ad specifications:
- Introductory text: up to 3,000 characters, with 150 recommended to avoid truncation.
- Headline: up to 200, with 70 recommended.
- Description: up to 300, with 100 recommended.
The gap is huge. A 3,000-character intro is allowed, and almost all of it will sit behind a "see more".
TikTok, Pinterest, Reddit and X
- TikTok shows a maximum of 4 lines of ad text before a "See more" message covers the rest, and suggests staying within 100 characters, or 50 in Chinese, Japanese or Korean, in its in-feed ad specifications. The display name shows a single line of up to 20 characters (10 in those scripts), per the auction in-feed specs.
- Pinterest takes titles of up to 100 characters and descriptions of up to 800, but only the first 40 characters of a title may show in the feed, or 30 in double-byte languages, and descriptions do not show in the home or search feed at all. From the Pinterest product specs.
- Reddit allows a 300-character headline, recommends 100 or fewer, and calls 80 or fewer the safer limit. The display URL takes up to 100. From Reddit's image ad specifications.
- X gives a promoted post 280 characters, and each link reduces that by 23, so a post with one link has 257 left. (Organic posts from an X Premium account can run to 25,000 characters; the ad spec is the 280.) A website or media card headline takes up to 70 characters, and X says staying at 50 should avoid truncation on most devices. From X's creative ad specifications.
How a character is counted, which is not always one
Most platforms count what you see. Two documented exceptions change the answer for a lot of advertisers:
- Google counts double-width languages as 2. Every Korean, Japanese or Chinese character counts as two, according to Google's help. A 30-character headline holds 15 of them.
- Microsoft does the same, and adds emoji. Its reference gives double-width text a headline of 15, a description of 45 and a path of 7, and lists emoji among the double-width characters. A Microsoft headline with 20 letters and 5 emoji is full at 30.
TikTok’s in-feed spec applies the same rule to its suggested length: a full-width character takes two spaces, which is why its 100-character suggestion becomes 50 in Chinese, Japanese or Korean.
Emoji also cause trouble in the other direction. A family emoji or a flag looks like one character but is several code points underneath, and a counter that counts UTF-16 units calls the four-person family emoji 11. The checker counts graphemes, meaning characters as a reader sees them, and shows the underlying UTF-16 length next to it when the two differ, so you can see why another tool disagrees.
A worked example across platforms
Take one headline: Free shipping on every order over $50. It is 37 characters.
| Platform and field | Number | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Google search headline | 30 cap | Over by 7 |
| Microsoft headline | 30 cap | Over by 7 |
| Meta headline | 40 recommended | Fits |
| LinkedIn headline | 200 cap, 70 recommended | Fits |
| Reddit headline | 300 cap, 100 recommended | Fits |
| X card headline | 70 cap, 50 advised | Fits |
The fix is a short version for search: Free shipping over $50, 22 characters, fits everywhere. This is the usual pattern. Search ads need a tight line, social ads can take the long one, and it is quicker to write both at the start than to discover the problem when Google rejects the ad.
Writing to the limit without writing to the limit
- Front-load the point. On every platform with a recommendation, the text past it is hidden, not deleted. The first line has to work alone.
- Write the short line first. A 30-character headline that works can be extended for LinkedIn. A 70-character one rarely cuts down cleanly.
- Count links on X. A link costs 23 whether it is short or long, so shortening a URL saves nothing in the count.
- Check localized copy separately. A translated headline can run longer, and a Japanese one counts double on Google and Microsoft. The same message may need a different line per language.
Check yours
The ad copy length checker has every limit above, each with its source, and a Compare all view that measures one headline and one body text against every platform at once. It runs in your browser and nothing you paste leaves the page. For organic captions, the caption length checker covers the posting limits instead.
If you would rather hand the whole job over, Hermoso runs your marketing on autopilot. It writes ad copy in your brand's voice as part of making the ad, can test headline variants on one image ad with nothing else changing, and builds campaigns on your own ad accounts, created paused so nothing spends until you say so.
Questions people ask
What is the character limit for Google Ads headlines?
Responsive search ad headlines take up to 30 characters, descriptions up to 90 and display paths up to 15 each. Google counts each Korean, Japanese or Chinese character as 2.
Are Meta ad text limits hard limits?
No. Meta recommends 125 characters for primary text, 40 for headlines and 25 for descriptions. Longer text is accepted but may be truncated in the ad.
Do emoji count as two characters in ads?
On Microsoft Advertising responsive search ads, yes: Microsoft lists emoji as double-width characters. Google's double-width rule names Korean, Japanese and Chinese. Elsewhere an emoji is usually one character, though some tools miscount combined emoji.
How many characters does a link use in an X ad?
Each link reduces the 280-character post by 23, so a post with one link has 257 characters left for everything else.