Mastodon character counter
Count a post against your server's real limit: type its name and we'll ask it. The content warning counts too, links cost 23, and @user@server counts as @user.
Runs in your browser. Your text and images never leave it.
Updated
Each server sets its own limit. Type yours to count against it; without one, it's Mastodon's default of 500.
It counts toward the limit with the post.
0 / 500
500 leftcharactersMastodon: Characters as you see them: an emoji, a flag or an accented letter is one.
Type or paste a post to count it.
- Characters as typed
- 0
- Emoji
- 0
Every server sets its own limit
Mastodon's default is 500. Yours might allow more.
Mastodon ships with a limit of 500 characters, and each server can change it. Servers publish their limit in their instance API, at /api/v2/instance, and that's what the counter reads: type your server's name and it asks the server directly.
Only the server's name leaves your browser, and it goes straight to that server. Your post doesn't. If the server doesn't answer, or doesn't let browsers read its limits, the counter says so and counts against the default.
Servers running Pleroma or Akkoma answer too. They don't say what a link costs, so we count links at 23 there, as Mastodon does.
What Mastodon counts
Mastodon counts characters as you see them: an emoji, a flag or an accented letter is 1. On top of that, four rules change the count:
- The content warning counts. Its characters are added to the post's, so a 17-character warning leaves 483 for the post on a 500-character server.
- A link that starts with http:// or https:// counts 23, however long it is. A server can set its own number, and the counter uses it.
- A bare domain, like
example.com, isn't a link here. It's plain text and counts as typed. - A mention of someone on another server counts without the server:
@alice@example.socialcounts as@alice.
Worked examples
Thanks @alice@example.social for the slides: https://example.com/talks/2026/scheduling-for-the-fediverse
| Piece | What it is | Counts |
|---|---|---|
| Thanks | Letters and spaces | 7 |
| @alice@example.social | A remote mention, counted as @alice | 6 |
| for the slides: | Letters, a colon and spaces | 17 |
| https://example.com/talks/2026/scheduling-for-the-fediverse | A 59-character link | 23 |
| Mastodon counts | 53 of 500 | |
Typed out, that's 104 characters. Mastodon counts 53.
Content warning: US politics, long
My take on this week's vote, and why it matters for small cities. It's a long one.
| Piece | What it is | Counts |
|---|---|---|
| US politics, long | The content warning | 17 |
| My take on this week's vote, and why it matters for small cities. | The first sentence | 66 |
| It's a long one. | The second sentence | 16 |
| Mastodon counts | 99 of 500 | |
The warning, “US politics, long”, adds 17, so the post counts 99.
When a post is over
Cut to fit keeps the longest part that fits with your content warning, ending at the last full sentence, the last whole word, or exactly at the limit. It never splits an emoji, a link or a mention. If the warning alone is over the limit, shorten the warning.
Does Shaflex keep a Mastodon post under the limit for me?
Yes. Shaflex sizes the Mastodon copy of your draft as you write, turns a longer one into a thread, and lets you add a content warning or mark media as sensitive, whichever server you post from. The same draft goes to your other networks too, each copy fitted to its own limit, and they're scheduled together.
See how Shaflex schedules for Mastodon, how one draft goes to every network, and what the free plan includes.
Where these rules come from
Each one is from the network's own documentation, help pages or source code. We last checked them on .
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Mastodon character limit questions
What's the character limit on Mastodon?
It depends on your server. Mastodon's default is 500, and each server can change it. Type your server into the counter and it reads the limit from the server itself.
Does the content warning count toward the limit?
Yes. Mastodon adds the warning's characters to the post's, so a 17-character warning leaves 483 for the post on a 500-character server.
How do links count on Mastodon?
23 each when they start with http:// or https://, whatever their length, unless your server sets another number. A bare domain counts as typed.
Do mentions count toward the character limit?
Only the @user part. @alice@example.social counts as @alice, so mentioning someone on another server costs no more than mentioning a neighbour.
How do I find my server's character limit?
Type its name into the counter. It reads configuration.statuses.max_characters from your server's /api/v2/instance, which is where Mastodon publishes it.
One draft, a copy for every network.
Write the post once in Shaflex, adjust the copy each network gets, and schedule them all together.
Free plan, no card needed.