Instagram Bio Character Limit 2026 (and every other limit, in one place)
If you're trying to fit "Founder | NYC | Coffee ☕ | Building XYZ" into your Instagram bio and the app is silently dropping the last few characters, you've hit the 150-character bio limit. That's the number that catches most people. Here are all the others.
Quick Answer: Every Instagram Character Limit (2026)
| Field | Limit | What's visible before truncation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Bio | 150 chars | All of it (no truncation) |
| Username | 30 chars | All of it |
| Display Name | 30 chars | All of it |
| Caption (Post & Reel) | 2,200 chars | First 125 chars before "…more" |
| Story Text | ~250 chars | All of it (varies by font size) |
| Comment | 2,200 chars | First ~5 lines before "View more" |
| DM | 1,000 chars | All of it (single message) |
| Hashtags per post | 30 hashtags | (in caption + first comment combined) |
| Alt Text | 100 chars | Hidden from feed; visible to screen readers |
The Hidden Catch: 125, Not 2,200
Captions allow up to 2,200 characters — but that's vanity space. Only the first ~125 characters show in the feed before the "…more" tap-to-expand button. Everything after that gets read by exactly the people who already love you. So your hook, your CTA, your value proposition — all of it has to fit in those 125 characters.
A reliable structure for the first 125:
0-30 chars: stop-the-scroll hook (question, bold claim, or contradiction)
31-100 chars: payoff (the actual specific thing, not vague)
Try the tool mentioned above?
Open the related KuchhBhi tool and put the guide into practice.
101-125 chars: tease for "more" (what they'll learn if they expand)
Bio Hacks That Use Every Last Character
The 150-char Instagram bio is short. To fit more in:
Stack vertically — bio supports line breaks. 5 short lines often reads better than 1 long sentence.
Use emojis as bullets — they count as 1-2 characters but visually separate ideas.
Skip filler words — "I'm a founder" → "Founder". "Currently working on" → "Building".
Last line = link reason — "↓ free template" tells visitors what your link-in-bio actually does.
Reels vs Posts vs Stories
| Surface | Caption length sweet spot |
| :--- | :--- |
| Feed Post | 125-220 chars. Long-form storytelling captions work but only on accounts with established audiences. |
| Reel | 80-125 chars. Reel captions are scanned, not read. Lead with the value proposition. |
| Story | One short sentence per slide. Don't overstuff — it covers your visual. |
Don't Count by Hand
Pasting a draft into Instagram's compose box only to find it's 12 characters over is annoying. We built the Character Counter with real-time progress bars for Instagram bio (150), caption (125 visible/2,200 max), plus Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook in the same view. Draft once, fit everywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Instagram increase the bio limit in 2026?
No. The Instagram bio is still capped at 150 characters as of 2026 — same as it has been for years. Periodic rumours about an expansion to 250 haven't materialised.
How many hashtags can I use per Instagram post?
30 maximum, counted across the caption AND the first comment combined. Most growth experts recommend 5-15 highly relevant ones rather than maxing out — over-tagging is a soft spam signal in 2026.
What's the Instagram username character limit?
30 characters, alphanumeric plus underscores and periods. Once registered, you can change it freely from settings.
Why is my caption getting cut off after a few lines?
That's the "…more" truncation, not a hard limit. Your full caption (up to 2,200 chars) is intact — but only the first ~125 chars show in the feed view. Tapping "…more" expands it.