LinkedIn Character Limits Reference

LinkedIn Character Limits Reference

Every LinkedIn character limit, tested in May 2026 and cross-referenced against LinkedIn's official ad specs. Posts, profiles, messages, company pages, comments, articles, and all 15 ad formats.

Published May 13, 2026 · 8 min read

How we collected these limits

We tested every native LinkedIn surface ourselves in May 2026. The method was simple: paste a long string into the field, count where LinkedIn cuts you off, repeat until the number is consistent. Posts, headlines, about sections, DMs, comments, company pages, and connection requests were all tested directly.

For LinkedIn's 15 ad formats and InMail, we cross-referenced LinkedIn's own published spec pages, linked inline next to each format below. Where LinkedIn's pages contradict each other (and they do; the Message Ads specs page says 8,000 characters while the Ads Guide summary card says 1,500), we used the more specific page and flagged the conflict.

LinkedIn post character limit

LinkedIn posts have a hard limit of 3,000 characters. That includes spaces, line breaks, emoji, and text formatting. The number applies equally to text posts, image posts, video posts, and document (carousel) posts.

The number that actually matters is much smaller. LinkedIn truncates posts in the feed behind a "see more" link. Based on our testing, the truncation lands somewhere between 120 and 210 characters, roughly the first 1–3 lines of the post. The range depends on line breaks, media attachments, and rendering differences across devices. Two consecutive newlines (a paragraph break) almost always end the snippet early, so if you want a longer hook, keep the opening in a single paragraph.

LinkedIn profile character limits

Your headline appears in search results, on your profile card, and in every comment you leave. 220 characters is enough for a job title, a value proposition, and a keyword or two if you're deliberate about spacing. The About section at 2,600 characters is roughly the length of a short blog post.

LinkedIn has many other profile fields (experience descriptions, education, skills, custom URL slug, recommendations) but their published limits aren't consistently maintained. If you're bumping into a ceiling on one of those fields, the fastest way to find the current number is to test it yourself the same way we did.

LinkedIn messaging character limits

Three messaging surfaces, each with a different ceiling.

Direct messages are generous. 8,000 characters is more than double the post limit, and you can send consecutive messages in the same thread if you somehow need more.

Connection requests are tight. 200 characters on a free account is roughly two sentences. LinkedIn Premium accounts allow longer notes, but LinkedIn doesn't publish a specific Premium number. A concise, specific note explaining why you want to connect tends to improve acceptance rates more than a longer pitch would.

InMail sits in between. LinkedIn's Help Center page gives a 200-character subject and 1,900-character body. A dynamic character counter in the composition box changes color as your message gets longer, nudging you toward brevity. The platform has historically recommended shorter InMails for better response rates, which tracks with the general pattern that recipients decide to reply or not within the first few lines.

For the full InMail specs, see LinkedIn's InMail Help Center page.

LinkedIn company page character limits

The tagline appears below your company name in search results and on the page header. At 120 characters, it needs to work as a single phrase. The About section at 2,000 characters is shorter than the personal profile equivalent (2,600).

LinkedIn comments

Comments cap at 1,250 characters. That's enough for a substantive response (four or five short paragraphs) but not enough to write a full post inside someone else's thread.

Comments are an underrated publishing surface. A well-crafted comment on a popular post can reach thousands of people who never see your own feed. LinkedIn's algorithm surfaces comments with high engagement to people beyond the original poster's audience. Treat every comment as a tiny piece of content with its own point and value.

LinkedIn articles and newsletters

LinkedIn's long-form article format has a generous ceiling. These numbers come from Linked Helper's LinkedIn character limit guide, since LinkedIn doesn't publish a single page with these limits.

110,000 characters is roughly 15,000+ words. The practical constraint on articles is reader attention, not the character ceiling.

LinkedIn ad character limits

LinkedIn has 15 ad formats, each with its own set of text fields. Rather than one sprawling table, expand each format below to see its specific fields, limits, and the source URL for the official spec.

Where a format lists a "recommended" number alongside a higher maximum, write to the recommended limit. LinkedIn shows those numbers because they're what performs best in practice.

What to do with these limits

The single most important number on this page isn't 3,000. It's the 120–210 character "see more" window. Your hook earns the click to expand. Everything else (the full post, the careful structure, the strong close) only matters if someone taps past the fold. Write the opening as if it's the entire post.

For ads, write to the recommended limits (70 characters for headlines, 150 for intro text on Video Ads) rather than the hard maximums. LinkedIn shows recommended numbers because those are the lengths that perform best in Campaign Manager. The extra characters above the recommendation exist as overflow, not as a target. If you're planning content across the week, the content calendar can help you keep track of what's drafted, what's scheduled, and what still needs a hook rewrite.