# LinkedIn character counter for posts, headlines and the About section

> Free LinkedIn character counter for posts, headlines, About and comments. See each 2026 limit, how emoji are counted and where the feed hides your text.

Source: https://linkedinlikes.com/linkedin-character-counter · Updated: 2026-11-12

## Key takeaways

- LinkedIn limits a post to 3,000 characters, the About section to 2,600, a headline to 220 and a comment to 1,250.
- A connection request note allows 300 characters and an article headline allows 100.
- LinkedIn counts UTF-16 code units, so many emoji and styled Unicode letters take two characters each.
- The feed folds a post after roughly 210 characters on desktop and about 140 on mobile.
- The counter works inside your browser, and the text you paste is not saved or sent anywhere.

This LinkedIn character counter shows, as you type, how many characters your post (limit 3,000), About section (2,600), headline (220) or comment (1,250) uses, counted with LinkedIn's own rules. All counting happens in your browser, so nothing you paste is stored or sent to a server.

## How do you use the LinkedIn character counter?

1. **Choose a field** 
Select what you are writing: a post, the About section, a headline, a comment, a connection request note or an article headline. LinkedIn gives each of them a separate limit.
2. **Paste or type your text** 
The number refreshes with every keystroke and follows LinkedIn's rules for emoji and links.
3. **Read the limit bar** 
The bar goes amber once you pass 90% of the limit and red when you go over, and it tells you exactly how many characters to cut.
4. **Look at the preview of the fold** 
The tool shows which text stays visible before LinkedIn collapses the post, both on a desktop screen and on a phone.

## What are the LinkedIn character limits in 2026?

Six different caps apply across a profile and its posts. Once you hit one, LinkedIn simply refuses more input, so a long paste gets trimmed without any message telling you what was lost.

| Where you write | Max characters | What to know |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Post | 3,000 | spaces and line breaks count too |
| About section | 2,600 | the summary on your profile |
| Headline | 220 | appears beside each post and comment you write |
| Comment | 1,250 | applies to each comment |
| Connection request note | 300 | the personal message with an invite |
| Article headline | 100 | title of an article or newsletter issue |

## How does LinkedIn count characters?

LinkedIn measures text in UTF-16 code units. A plain letter is one unit, but many emoji need two or more, and the bold or italic Unicode letters that formatting tools produce need two each. Every space and every line break adds to the total as well.

That is why a post full of emoji or styled text can show a higher count than you expect from looking at it. If you use a [LinkedIn text formatter](https://linkedinlikes.com/linkedin-text-formatter) for bold words, check the count again afterwards.

## Where does the LinkedIn feed cut off a post?

Length under 3,000 does not mean people read all of it. The feed folds a post behind "...see more" after about 210 characters on desktop and about 140 on mobile. The real position shifts with the device, the font and the number of line breaks, so read both numbers as estimates.

The text above the fold is the one part a person scrolling past will reliably read. Put the most specific thing you have there: a figure, an opinion people may disagree with, or a concrete outcome. Leave the background for later lines. Switch the counter to the Mobile view before you publish, because an opening that fits on a laptop can be cut in the middle of a word on a phone.

## How does the LinkedIn limit compare with other networks?

The same draft produces a different count on each network, since each one measures text in its own way.

| Network | Post limit | Counting method |
| --- | --- | --- |
| X | 280 (post) | weighted: a link counts as 23, an emoji as 2, a CJK character as 2 |
| Threads | 500 (post) | UTF-16 code units, links counted at full length |
| Bluesky | 300 (post) | graphemes, so one emoji is 1, with a separate 3,000-byte cap |

## Free tools to check the post before publishing

- [LinkedIn Post Preview](https://linkedinlikes.com/linkedin-post-preview) to see the post as it will appear in the feed
- [LinkedIn Line Break Generator](https://linkedinlikes.com/linkedin-line-break-generator) to keep spacing after you paste
- [LinkedIn Text Formatter](https://linkedinlikes.com/linkedin-text-formatter) for bold and italic text
- [LinkedIn Hook Generator](https://linkedinlikes.com/linkedin-hook-generator) for an opening that fits above the fold
- [All free LinkedIn tools](https://linkedinlikes.com/linkedin-free-tools)

## What should you do once the post fits every limit?

A post inside the limits is ready to go live. How far LinkedIn shows it then depends a lot on the reactions and comments it gets during the first hours.

[LinkedInLikes](https://linkedinlikes.com/linkedin/like) is a free community where members react to each other's posts by hand from their own LinkedIn accounts. After you sign up you get 100 starter points to spend on your own post, and you collect more by reacting to posts from other members.

## More ways to grow on LinkedIn

- [LinkedIn growth course](https://linkedinlikes.com/linkedin-growth-course)
- [How LinkedIn pods work](https://linkedinlikes.com/linkedin-engagement-pods)
- [Exchanging likes and comments on LinkedIn](https://linkedinlikes.com/linkedin-engagement-exchange)
- [Connect for connect on LinkedIn](https://linkedinlikes.com/linkedin-connect-for-connect)
- [Like for like works best when you give first and post early](https://linkedinlikes.com/how-to-do-like-for-like-on-linkedin)

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the character limit for a LinkedIn post?

3,000 characters, and spaces and line breaks are part of that number. At the cap LinkedIn stops taking input; it does not publish a shortened version.

### How many characters appear before "see more" on LinkedIn?

About 210 on desktop and about 140 on mobile. The exact spot depends on the device and your line breaks, so check both views in the counter.

### How long can a LinkedIn headline be?

220 characters. Your headline shows up next to every post and comment you publish, so check its length before you save it.

### How long can a LinkedIn About section be?

2,600 characters, including spaces and line breaks.

### Does an emoji count as two characters on LinkedIn?

Often it does. Many emoji take two or more UTF-16 units, and the counter includes them that way, so a post with lots of emoji shows a higher total than it seems to have.

### Is my text uploaded anywhere?

No. The counter does all its work in your browser tab, and what you type stays there.

### How does LinkedIn spread a new post?

OutX describes a quality filter during the first 15 minutes, a test of early reactions lasting up to 90 minutes, and wider distribution for up to 48 hours when reactions and comments come in strongly.