The numbers

How Many Characters Can an X Post Be?

280 characters for everyone, and up to 25,000 for X Premium subscribers. The catch is the fold: the feed shows only the first 280 characters of a long post, and readers tap Show more for the rest. So the opening still has to work as a short post.

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The numbers

280 free, 25,000 with Premium

A standard X account can post 280 characters. That limit has held since 2017, when it doubled from 140. X Premium subscribers can write posts of up to 25,000 characters, which X calls long posts. Long posts are not a separate format: they appear in the feed like any other post, cut at 280 characters with a Show more link, and the full text opens on tap. Replies and quote posts follow the same limits as the account that writes them.

280 characters on every account

Up to 25,000 characters with X Premium

Only the first 280 characters show in the timeline

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How X counts

Links, emoji and scripts do not count the way you expect

X counts characters by weight, not by keystroke. Every link is shortened to a t.co address and counted as 23 characters no matter how long it is, so a 100-character URL costs 23. Most emoji count as two characters. Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters count as two each, which is why a post in those languages holds about 140 of them. Letters, numbers, punctuation and spaces in Latin, Cyrillic and most other scripts count as one. Mentions at the start of a reply do not count; mentions inside the text do.

Every link costs 23 characters, whatever its length

Most emoji count as two

CJK characters count as two, so about 140 fit

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Writing for the fold

Why the first 280 characters still decide everything

Because the feed shows only the first 280 characters of a long post, a Premium post has two jobs: the opening must earn the tap, and the rest must reward it. Readers who scroll past the fold never see your argument. Write the first 280 as if that were the whole post: a claim, a number, or a question, then a line break before the detail. If the idea needs more than 280 characters and you are not on Premium, a thread of short posts usually reads better than one dense block, and each post in it gets its own reach.

Write the first 280 characters as a complete post

Put the claim first, the detail after the fold

On a free account, a thread beats a cramped single post

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Write to the limit in 4 steps

1

Know which limit applies

Check whether the account posting has X Premium. Without it, the ceiling is 280 characters and anything longer is refused. With it, you can go to 25,000, but the feed still folds at 280.
2

Count with weights, not keystrokes

Replace each link with 23 characters in your head, count emoji as two, and count CJK characters as two. A counter that shows the count as you type, such as the one in the PostNext composer, saves the guesswork.
3

Lead with the line that has to land

Put the claim, number or question in the first sentence. Add a line break, then the detail. On a long post the break should fall before the 280-character fold, so the Show more link appears at a natural pause.
4

Trim, then schedule

Cut adjectives before you cut facts. When the post fits, schedule it for a time your readers are on X and let it go out on its own. PostNext shows the character count as you type.
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X character limit FAQ

Quick answers on the 280 and 25,000 limits, links, emoji, threads and Premium.

How many characters can an X post be?

280 characters on a standard account. X Premium subscribers can post up to 25,000 characters, shown in the feed as the first 280 with a Show more link.

Is the limit on X still 280?

Yes, for free accounts. It has been 280 since November 2017. Premium raised the ceiling for subscribers, but the free limit did not change.

How many characters do you get with X Premium?

Up to 25,000 characters per post. Readers see the first 280 in the timeline and open the rest by tapping Show more.

Do links count against the character limit on X?

Yes, but at a fixed cost. Every link becomes a t.co address and counts as 23 characters, however long the original URL is.

Do emoji count as one character on X?

Most emoji count as two characters. A post made of nothing but emoji holds about 140 of them.

Why does my post in Japanese run out of space so fast?

Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters are weighted at two each, so a 280-character post holds roughly 140 of them.

Do mentions count toward the limit?

Mentions inside the text count. Mentions that X adds automatically at the start of a reply do not.

Do images and videos use characters?

No. Attached media does not reduce the character count. Alt text has its own limit of 1,000 characters.

Continue learning

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A thread is a sequence of connected posts that read as one piece. How X threads, Threads-the-app, and Reddit threads differ in 2026.
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Cross-platform structure for social media bios that convert visits to follows — plus per-platform differences and an AI workflow.

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