# YouTube character limits for titles, descriptions and tags

> Titles take 100 characters, descriptions 5,000, with about 157 shown before more. Tags 500 in all. Every YouTube text limit, with a live counter.

Page: https://omnisocials.com/youtube-character-limits
Checked: October 17, 2026

Titles take 100 characters and descriptions 5,000. Only about the first 157 characters of a description show before "more". Paste a description below to count it and see where it folds.

## The short answer: Titles: 100 characters. Descriptions: 5,000. Tags: 500 in all.

YouTube's Help Center caps a video title at 100 characters and a description at 5,000, on regular videos and Shorts alike. Only the first lines of a description show before "more". About 157 characters is the commonly quoted cut; YouTube does not publish one, and it moves with the screen.

Schedulers publish through the YouTube Data API. It caps the title at 100 characters, the description at 5,000 bytes and all tags together at 500 characters, and neither the title nor the description may contain < or >. An emoji or a non-Latin letter takes 2 to 4 bytes, so such descriptions reach the API limit sooner.

- **Title**: 100 (The same on Shorts)
- **Description**: 5,000 (About 157 show before "more")
- **Tags**: 500 (All tags together, commas count)

## Count a description and see where it folds

- Description: up to 5,000 characters, about 157 show before "more".
- Hashtags: up to 60 per post.

## Every YouTube text limit in one table. With where each number comes from.

| Field | Limit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Video or Short title | 100 characters | YouTube Help Center; Data API |
| Description | 5,000 characters | YouTube Help Center; the Data API counts 5,000 bytes |
| Description shown before "more" | About 157 characters | Not published; varies by screen |
| Tags | 500 characters in all | Data API; commas count, and a tag with a space counts its quotes |
| Hashtags | 60; past that, all are ignored | YouTube Help Center |
| Hashtags shown by the title | Up to 3 | YouTube Help Center |
| Comment | Not published | 10,000 circulates; the API rejects longer comments |
| Handle | 3 to 30 characters | YouTube Help Center; fewer for some scripts |
| Channel name | Not published | Can be changed twice in 14 days |
| Channel description | 1,000 characters | Data API |
| Channel keywords | 500 characters in all | Data API |
| Links on your channel | Up to 14 | YouTube Help Center |

Checked on October 17, 2026. "Not published" means YouTube states no number; we leave out the guesses other guides repeat.

## What YouTube Studio allows, and what a scheduled upload must fit. Schedulers publish through the YouTube Data API.

| Field | YouTube Studio | Schedulers (the API) |
|---|---|---|
| Title | 100 characters | 100 characters, no < or > |
| Description | 5,000 characters | 5,000 bytes, no < or > |
| Tags | Not stated in the Help Center | 500 characters in all |

OmniSocials publishes Shorts through the API. Leave the title empty and it uses the description's first line, up to 100 characters. It cuts a description at 5,000 characters, trims tags to 500 and swaps < and > for ‹ ›, so the upload does not fail.

## Write titles and descriptions that get read. The first words do the work.

1. **Lead the title with the topic** Feeds, search and phones cut long titles. Put the words people search for first, and keep the rest short.
2. **Use the first lines of the description** YouTube's tip is to use "the first few lines of your description to describe your video". That is the part people see before "more".
3. **Add chapters with timestamps** List at least three timestamps in order, starting at 00:00. Each chapter must be at least 10 seconds long.
4. **Keep tags for misspellings** YouTube says tags "play a minimal role in your video's discovery". Use them for names people often spell wrong.
5. **Leave out < and >** The API rejects a title or description that contains them. Write "more than" or use an arrow instead.
6. **Watch emoji in long descriptions** The API counts the description in bytes. An emoji or a non-Latin letter uses 2 to 4 of the 5,000.

## Schedule it with OmniSocials

Leave the title empty and OmniSocials uses your description's first line, cut to YouTube's 100 characters. OmniSocials schedules posts to YouTube and 11 more networks from one calendar, and AI agents (Claude, ChatGPT and others) can plan and schedule through its MCP server. $10 per seat a month billed yearly, $12 monthly; 14-day free trial, a card is needed to start it. https://omnisocials.com/pricing

## Sources and method

Each limit comes from YouTube's Help Center or the YouTube Data API reference, read on October 17, 2026. Where YouTube publishes no number, the table says "Not published" instead of repeating a figure from another guide. The 157-character fold is the commonly quoted cut, not an official one.

- YouTube Help, [Edit video settings](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/57404), Read Oct 2026. Titles 100 characters, descriptions 5,000.
- YouTube Help, [Tips for video descriptions](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/12948449), Read Oct 2026
- YouTube Data API, [Videos resource](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/videos), Read Oct 2026. Title 100 characters, description 5,000 bytes, tags 500 characters.
- YouTube Data API, [Channels resource](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/channels), Read Oct 2026. Channel description 1,000 characters, keywords 500.
- YouTube Help, [Use hashtags for search on YouTube](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6390658), Read Oct 2026
- YouTube Help, [Add tags to your YouTube videos](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/146402), Read Oct 2026
- YouTube Help, [Handle guidelines](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/11585688), Read Oct 2026
- YouTube Help, [Manage your YouTube channel's profile](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2972003), Read Oct 2026
- YouTube Help, [Video chapters](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9884579), Read Oct 2026

## Related guides

- [Best time to post on YouTube](https://omnisocials.com/best-time-to-post-on-youtube)
- [How often to post on YouTube](https://omnisocials.com/how-often-to-post-on-youtube)
- [YouTube image sizes](https://omnisocials.com/youtube-image-sizes)
- [YouTube video lengths](https://omnisocials.com/youtube-video-lengths)
- [YouTube hashtag limits](https://omnisocials.com/youtube-hashtag-limits)
- [Schedule YouTube posts](https://omnisocials.com/youtube)
- [Connect YouTube](https://omnisocials.com/help-center/integrations/youtube)
- [Create a post](https://omnisocials.com/help-center/creating-content/create-post)
- [MCP server](https://omnisocials.com/mcp)
- [REST API](https://omnisocials.com/api)
- [API reference](https://docs.omnisocials.com)

## FAQ

### What is the YouTube title character limit?

100 characters, spaces included. It is the same for regular videos and Shorts.

### What is the YouTube description character limit?

5,000 characters in YouTube Studio. Through the API that schedulers use, the cap is 5,000 bytes, so emoji and non-Latin letters fill it faster.

### How many characters show before "more" in a description?

About 157 is the commonly quoted figure, but YouTube does not publish one and it changes with the screen. Put the point of the video in the first line or two.

### What is the YouTube tag character limit?

500 characters for all tags together. Commas between tags count, and a tag with a space counts the quotes around it, so "Foo Baz" uses 9 characters.

### Is the YouTube Shorts title limit different?

No. A Short uses the same title field, with the same 100 characters, and the same 5,000-character description.

### How long can a YouTube comment be?

YouTube does not publish a comment length. 10,000 characters is the figure that circulates, and the API returns a "comment text too long" error past its cap.

### How long can a YouTube channel description be?

1,000 characters, per the YouTube Data API reference.

### How long can a YouTube handle be?

3 to 30 characters in most languages, using letters, numbers, underscores, hyphens and periods. Han and Hangul handles allow 1 to 10.

### Do hashtags count toward the description limit?

Yes. Hashtags are part of the description text, so they count toward the 5,000 characters. A video with more than 60 hashtags has all of them ignored.

### Why did my scheduled YouTube upload fail on the title or description?

The API rejects a title over 100 characters, a description over 5,000 bytes, and either one with < or >. OmniSocials trims and swaps these before it uploads.