Instagram character limits
All the Instagram character limits that matter: bio 150, caption 2,200, name and username 30, five hashtags per post, with a live counter and sources.
Count against
- Characters
- 0 / 150
- Code units
- 0
- Lines
- 1
- Hashtags
- 0
Bio: 150 characters (official help page).
Every Instagram limit, with its source
Instagram’s help center publishes the 150-character bio limit. The five-hashtag cap was announced by Adam Mosseri and reported by The Verge; caption, name and username lengths are third-party figures, labeled as such.
| Field | Limit | Details | Styled text | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bio | 150 characters | Anyone can see your bio. Empty lines are squashed unless they hold an invisible character such as U+2800. | Yes | Official |
| Hashtags per post or Reel | 5 | Adam Mosseri announced the five-hashtag cap on 18 December 2025. He said hashtags help search but do not increase reach. | — | News |
| Caption (posts, carousels, Reels) | 2,200 characters | Hashtags, mentions, spaces, line breaks and emojis all count. A line that ends in a space can lose its line break, so trim trailing spaces. | Yes | Third-party |
| Comment | 2,200 characters | Reference sites report the same limit as captions. | Yes | Third-party |
| Name (display name) | 30 characters | Searchable, and Instagram limits how often you can change it. | Yes | Third-party |
| Username (@handle) | 30 characters | Letters, numbers, periods and underscores only, so no styled letters or invisible characters. | No | Third-party |
| Name changes | Twice in 14 days | Shown in the app when you edit your Name; the @username has its own rules. Not stated in Instagram's help center. | — | Third-party |
| Note (inbox) | 60 characters | Notes disappear after 24 hours. | — | Third-party |
| Profile links | Up to 5 | Added in Edit profile → Links; they do not use bio characters. | — | News |
Last checked: 9 October 2026. “Official” means the platform’s own help center or newsroom; “Third-party” figures come from reference sites and are not published by the platform; “Reports” are user and practitioner observations.
Five hashtags per post since December 2025
On 18 December 2025 Instagram head Adam Mosseri said posts and Reels would be capped at five hashtags, adding that a few specific tags perform better than a long list and that hashtags help search but do not increase reach. Older advice to use 20 or 30 tags no longer applies.
Keep the five tags in plain letters. A hashtag written in bold or script Unicode is a different string and does not link to the tag — the Instagram font generator leaves hashtags unstyled for that reason.
Line breaks count, and empty lines vanish
Every line break uses one character of a 150-character bio. Truly empty lines are squashed when you save, and a line that ends with a space can lose its break, so spacing that looked right in your notes app arrives as one block.
The fix is an invisible Braille blank (U+2800) on each empty line and no trailing spaces. Each U+2800 counts as a character too. The Instagram line break generator applies both and counts the result.
Name, username and bio are three different fields
The Name above your bio accepts styled letters and is searchable; the @username accepts only letters, numbers, periods and underscores; the bio accepts anything up to 150 characters. Links go in Edit profile → Links, where you can add up to five without using bio characters.
Frequently asked questions
How many characters can an Instagram bio have?
150, according to Instagram’s help center. Line breaks, emojis and invisible spacing characters all count toward it.
What is the Instagram caption character limit?
2,200 characters for posts, carousels and Reels, by third-party counts. Instagram’s help center does not state it.
How many hashtags can you use on Instagram?
Five per post or Reel since December 2025, when Adam Mosseri announced the cap. The counter on this page shows how many your text contains.
How long can an Instagram username be?
30 characters by third-party counts, using only letters, numbers, periods and underscores. Styled or invisible characters cannot be used in a username.
Do invisible characters count toward Instagram’s limit?
Yes. A U+2800 blank holding an empty line is a character like any other, so a bio with three spaced-out sections spends a few characters on spacing.