Ad Copy Character Limits by Platform: How Long Should Ad Copy Be on Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and TikTok
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Ad copy character limits differ by platform and by field. Google hard-caps headlines at 30 characters and descriptions at 90 and rejects anything longer at upload. Meta publishes no hard maximum but hides primary text past roughly 125 characters and headlines past about 40. LinkedIn truncates on mobile, so front-load inside 150. Snapchat caps headlines at 34, and Reddit allows up to 300.
Ad copy should be as long as it takes to make one clear point, and no longer, but every platform caps and truncates that point differently. The safe rule across all of them is to land the hook and the core benefit in the first line, because on every major network most people only read the visible portion before it is cut off. Here are the real limits and the lengths that tend to work, platform by platform.
If you would rather generate copy that already fits each platform's limits, an AI ad maker writes it to spec for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Google in one pass, with variants to test.
The limits at a glance
| Platform | Field | Limit / visible | Best-practice length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary text | Truncates ~125 chars | 1 to 2 tight sentences | |
| Headline | ~40 chars shown | 5 to 7 words | |
| Description | ~30 chars shown | Often dropped entirely, keep it optional | |
| Caption | Truncates ~125 chars (2,200 max) | 1 to 2 sentences, hook first | |
| TikTok | Ad text / caption | ~100 chars visible | One punchy line |
| TikTok | Brand name | 48 chars | Under 24 reads better |
| Google RSA | Headline | 30 chars, hard | Fill all 30, no waste |
| Google RSA | Description | 90 chars, hard | Use most of the 90 |
| Google Display | Short headline | 30 chars, hard | Benefit in 30 |
| Google Display | Long headline | 90 chars, hard | Use the full 90 |
| Introductory text | Truncates on mobile | Front-load inside 150 chars | |
| Headline | LinkedIn advises under 60 | Under 60 chars | |
| Snapchat | Headline | 34 chars, hard | Use nearly all 34 |
| Snapchat | Brand name | 25 chars, hard | Your brand, nothing else |
| Headline | 300 chars | Under 50 tends to perform better |
One distinction in that table matters more than any single number, and most cheat sheets skip it. Meta, Instagram, and LinkedIn truncate silently: write past the visible window and the ad still runs, it just hides the rest behind "See more". Google, Snapchat, and Pinterest hard reject: go one character over and the upload fails with a validation error. So the two families need opposite habits. On the truncating platforms your job is to front-load, because nothing is technically wrong with long copy, it simply goes unread. On the rejecting platforms your job is to fill the field, because the cap is the canvas and unused characters are wasted space you cannot get back.
The Meta numbers deserve one more note. Meta does not publish a hard maximum on primary text, and the field will accept several hundred characters. The roughly 125-character figure is the observed point where the feed clamps the text behind "See more", and it moves with device and placement. Meta's own Facebook feed guidance recommends primary text in the 50 to 150 character range and a headline around 27 characters, which is tighter than the 40 that is usually quoted, because on smaller phones the visible headline window collapses further.
Facebook and Instagram: front-load or lose the reader
Meta's placements share the same trap: the primary text or caption is cut behind "See more" or "more" after roughly 125 characters. You can write more, and sometimes a longer story-driven ad performs well for warm audiences, but the decision to keep reading happens in that first line. So write the hook and the benefit inside 125 characters, and treat anything after as optional detail for the minority who expand. Our guides to Facebook ad copy examples and Instagram ad copy examples show what strong short openers look like.
TikTok: shortest of all
TikTok copy is the tightest, because the viewer is half-watching and the caption shows only about 100 characters. One punchy, native-sounding line does the work. Long copy on TikTok reads as a pitch and gets skipped, so the discipline here is ruthless: a hook, a payoff, and a soft call to action, all in a sentence.
Google: use every character you are given
Google search ads flip the logic. A responsive search ad headline is capped at 30 characters and a description at 90, and here the goal is to use nearly all of that space, because unused characters are wasted real estate on a text-only ad. Write headlines that fill the 30 with a benefit or a keyword, and descriptions that use most of the 90 to add proof and a call to action. Our responsive search ad best practices guide goes deeper on filling an RSA well.
LinkedIn: the intro is the whole ad on mobile
LinkedIn behaves like Meta in that it truncates rather than rejects, but the visible window is less predictable because the feed renders differently across desktop, mobile web, and the app. The reliable discipline is to get the claim and the audience signal into the first 150 characters, since that is what survives across all three. LinkedIn's own guidance for sponsored content is to keep the headline under 60 characters. B2B copy fights this constantly, because the qualifying detail that makes an offer credible to a director of finance is exactly the detail that pushes the intro past the fold. Put the qualifier in the image or the headline instead, and keep the intro to the claim.
Snapchat and Reddit: opposite problems
Snapchat is the tightest major platform in this list. The headline caps at 34 characters and the brand name at 25, both hard, and there is no expansion behind a "See more" link. Copy either fits or the upload is rejected. At 34 characters you get roughly five words, so the headline has to be the offer itself rather than a setup for it.
Reddit runs the other way. A promoted post headline accepts up to 300 characters, which is more room than any other platform here gives you, and the temptation is to use it. Resist. Reddit users read headlines the way they read organic posts, and the shorter, plainer, less advertised-sounding ones do better, with sub-50-character headlines commonly cited as the band that keeps cost per acquisition down. The limit is generous, the practical target is not.
When short beats long, and when it does not
Short copy wins on cold audiences, mobile feeds, and any placement where attention is scarce, which is most of them. Longer copy can win when the audience is already warm, the product needs explanation, or the story itself is the sell, common in higher-consideration purchases. The mistake is defaulting to long everywhere. Start short, front-load the point, and only add length when you have a reason and the data to back it. Because the right length changes by placement, the practical move is to write several lengths and test, rather than argue about it in a doc.
If you are producing ads across all these platforms at once, doing the length math by hand for each one is the slow part. Writing to spec automatically, and getting variants to test, is what keeps a multi-platform campaign moving. It also helps to audit the landing page your ads point to, since a slow or cluttered page undoes a good hook no matter how tight the copy is.
Frequently asked questions
What is the character limit for ad copy?
It depends on the platform and the field. Google enforces hard caps of 30 characters per headline and 90 per description. Snapchat caps headlines at 34. Meta and LinkedIn set no hard maximum but truncate instead: Meta clamps primary text near 125 characters and headlines near 40. Reddit allows up to 300 characters in a headline.
What is the Facebook ad headline character limit?
Around 40 characters are reliably shown, and Meta's own Facebook feed guidance recommends about 27, because on smaller phones the visible headline window collapses to roughly that. There is no hard rejection at 40, the ad still runs, but anything past the visible window is hidden. Write to 27 characters and the headline displays in full everywhere.
What is the Facebook ad primary text character limit?
Meta does not publish a hard maximum and the field accepts several hundred characters, but the feed clamps it behind "See more" at roughly 125 characters. Meta's feed guidance recommends 50 to 150. Treat 125 as the real limit, because the hook and the benefit have to land inside it and most people never expand.
What is the Google ad character limit?
Responsive search ads allow 30 characters per headline and 90 per description, with 15 characters per display path. Responsive display ads allow a 30-character short headline, a 90-character long headline, and a 90-character description. These are hard limits, so Google rejects over-limit text at upload rather than truncating it.
What is the LinkedIn ad copy character limit?
LinkedIn does not hard-reject intro text, it truncates on mobile, so the practical limit is the first 150 characters and everything important belongs inside them. For headlines, LinkedIn's own sponsored content guidance is to stay under 60 characters. Descriptions are frequently not displayed at all, depending on placement.
How long should Facebook ad copy be?
Keep the hook and core benefit inside the first 125 characters of the primary text, because Facebook truncates it behind "See more" there and most people never expand it. One to two tight sentences is a safe default. Longer, story-driven copy can work for warm audiences, but for cold traffic and mobile feeds, short and front-loaded almost always wins.
What is the ideal length for Google ad copy?
For a responsive search ad, use nearly all of the space you are given: fill the 30-character headlines and use most of the 90-character descriptions, since a text-only ad wastes any characters it leaves empty. Supply many distinct headlines and descriptions so Google has material to test. Unlike social copy, brevity is not the goal here; making full, non-repetitive use of the limits is.
Is shorter ad copy always better?
No. Short copy wins on cold audiences and attention-scarce feeds, which covers most placements, but longer copy can outperform when the audience is warm, the product needs explaining, or the story is the sell. The reliable approach is to start short and front-loaded, then test longer versions where you have a reason to believe added detail will help, rather than defaulting to one length everywhere.
How do I write ad copy that fits every platform's limit?
Write to the tightest visible limit for each placement: about 125 characters for Meta before truncation, roughly 100 for TikTok, and the strict 30 and 90 character caps for Google search. The efficient way is to generate copy that already respects each limit rather than hand-trimming, so you can produce a full multi-platform set and variants to test in one pass.
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