Threads character counter
Count a post against Threads' 500 the way the app does, see the stricter count Meta's API docs give emoji, and check your links and topic tag before it goes out.
Runs in your browser. Your text and images never leave it.
Updated
Set separately, the way the API sets it. Leave it empty and Threads uses the first #tag in your post. 1 to 50 characters.
0 / 500
500 leftUTF-16Threads: Counted the way code counts text: most emoji are 2, and some are more.
Type or paste a post to count it.
Different links0 / 5
Topic tagNone yet
- Characters as typed
- 0
- Emoji
- 0
How Threads counts a post
500 characters, counted the way the app counts them.
The Threads app counts text the way most code does, in UTF-16 units. A letter, a space or an accented letter counts 1. Most emoji count 2, and emoji built from several pieces count more: a flag is 4, a thumbs up with a skin tone 4, and a family 11.
Meta's developer docs give a stricter rule: emoji count as their UTF-8 bytes. Read that way, a plain emoji is 4, a flag 8 and a family 25. The same docs point to a counter that counts every emoji as 1, so they don't settle it. We count the way the app does and show the stricter reading beside it whenever your post has emoji.
| Character | The app | Meta's API docs |
|---|---|---|
| A letter or an accented letter (é) | 1 | 1 |
| A plain emoji (😀) | 2 | 4 |
| A flag (🇯🇵) | 4 | 8 |
| A skin tone (👍🏽) | 4 | 8 |
| A family (👨👩👧👦) | 11 | 25 |
Links count as typed, and 5 at most
Threads doesn't shorten the links in your text: a 31-character address costs 31, and one with tracking tags on the end costs every one of them.
A post can hold at most 5 different links. Meta counts the links in the text together with the one you attach for a preview, and the same link twice counts once. Go past 5 and the post fails when it's published, so the counter flags it. Cutting text won't fix that: remove a link or move it to a reply.
The first link in a post is the one that gets the preview card.
Worked examples
New drop is live 🔥 https://shop.example.com/autumn #SmallBusiness
| Piece | What it is | Counts |
|---|---|---|
| New drop is live | Letters and spaces | 17 |
| 🔥 | An emoji, then a space | 3 |
| https://shop.example.com/autumn | A link, as typed, then a space | 32 |
| #SmallBusiness | The topic tag | 14 |
| Threads counts | 66 of 500 | |
The app counts 66. Read Meta's way, the emoji's bytes make it 68.
Team offsite 👨👩👧👦 🇯🇵 👍🏽
| Piece | What it is | Counts |
|---|---|---|
| Team offsite | Letters and spaces | 13 |
| 👨👩👧👦 | A family, then a space | 12 |
| 🇯🇵 | A flag, then a space | 5 |
| 👍🏽 | A thumbs up with a skin tone | 4 |
| Threads counts | 34 of 500 | |
18 characters to the eye, 34 to the app, and 56 by Meta's API docs.
When a post is over
Cut to fit keeps the longest part that fits, ending at the last full sentence, the last whole word, or exactly at the limit, and never splits an emoji or a link. It can't fix too many links or a long topic tag; those you change by hand.
Does Shaflex keep a Threads post under the limit for me?
Yes. Shaflex sizes the Threads copy of your draft to Threads' 500 as you write, turns a longer one into a thread, and makes your first #tag the post's topic. 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 Threads, 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 .
More free tools
Each one runs in your browser too.
- Threads
Threads image sizes
The width Threads keeps, its 8 MB cap, formats and carousels, with a resizer set for Threads.
Open it - Text tool
Character counter
Count one draft for Threads, X, Bluesky, Mastodon and LinkedIn at once, and cut it to fit.
Open it - Text tool
Thread maker
Turn long text into a thread for X, Threads, Bluesky or Mastodon, split where paragraphs and sentences end, with links kept whole.
Open it
Threads character limit questions
What's the character limit on Threads?
500 per post. The app counts most emoji as 2, and emoji built from several pieces, like flags and families, as more.
Do emoji count as more than one character on Threads?
Yes. The app counts most emoji as 2 and a family emoji as 11. Meta's API docs say emoji count as their UTF-8 bytes, which makes most of them 4, so leave some room if a tool posts for you.
How many links can I put in a Threads post?
5 different links. The links in the text and the one attached for a preview count together, and repeats count once. More than 5 and the post fails.
Do links count toward the Threads character limit?
Yes, every character of them. Threads doesn't shorten links in a post's text, so a long address with tracking tags uses up your limit fast.
How long can a Threads topic tag be?
Between 1 and 50 characters, and a post gets one. A topic set separately can't contain a period or an ampersand.
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.