EN

PlaylistTime / Creator tools / Title length checker

YouTube title length checker: see where your title gets cut

Type or paste your title to count it against YouTube's 100-character limit and see how much shows in the home feed, search, the suggested list and on a phone. Add the description to check it too.

More options

The 500-character tag limit counts the commas, and a tag with a space counts 2 more, as the YouTube API does.

This YouTube title length checker counts your title against YouTube's 100-character limit and shows where it gets cut: in the home feed and search results on a computer, in the suggested videos list, and in the home feed on a phone. The limit is only half the story; viewers often see 50 to 70 characters before an ellipsis, so the checker shows exactly which words make it. Paste the description to check it against the 5,000 limit, see the lines that show before "more", and count hashtags. Tags can be checked too. Everything is measured in your browser and nothing is stored.

What is the YouTube title character limit?

100 characters. YouTube Help says video titles have a limit of 100 characters and cannot include invalid characters, and the YouTube Data API documentation says the same and names the invalid ones: the angle brackets < and >. Spaces, punctuation and emoji all count. The checker counts characters as you see them, so an emoji made of several code points counts once; YouTube's own counter may count some emoji as two.

Where do YouTube titles get cut off?

YouTube shows two lines of title in most layouts and replaces the rest with an ellipsis. How many characters fit depends on the screen, the layout and the letters you use (a W is wider than an i). The checker measures your actual title on a canvas with these approximate layouts:

WhereText width we useFont size, weightLines shown
Home feed (computer)300 px16 px, 5002
Search results (computer)560 px18 px, 4002
Suggested videos (computer)220 px14 px, 5002
Home feed (phone)290 px15 px, 5002
Description on a computer640 px14 px, 4003
Description on a phone343 px14 px, 4002

These widths are our own approximations of YouTube's layouts in October 2026, not numbers YouTube publishes. They are a good guide to which words are at risk, not an exact pixel promise.

How does the title checker work?

For each layout, the checker sets the font and size on an invisible canvas, then fills each line word by word until the next word would not fit, as a browser does. After the last allowed line it trims the text until it fits with an ellipsis, and reports how many characters stayed visible.

Worked example from our test on 26 October 2026 with the 71-character title "How to Calculate the Total Length of Any YouTube Playlist in 10 Seconds", in Chrome on Windows: it showed in full in the computer home feed (2 lines), in search (the last word on the second line) and in the phone feed, but in the suggested list it was cut after "in 10", showing 64 of 71 characters. Moving "Playlist Length" to the front would keep the key words visible everywhere.

How to check your YouTube title length

Step 1: Paste your title

Type or paste it in the first box. The count and the cut previews update as you type.

Step 2: Read where it gets cut

Each card shows the title as it would fit in that layout and how many characters show. Words after the cut are hidden behind an ellipsis.

Step 3: Add the description

Paste it in the second box to check the 5,000 limit, see the lines shown before more, and count hashtags.

Step 4: Fix and share

Move the important words to the front until they show everywhere, then copy a share link for your team.

What is the best length for a YouTube title?

YouTube does not give a number. Its title tips say viewers may only see part of your title, so keep it short, put the most important words near the beginning, and save episode numbers and branding for the end. In practice, the words that matter should fit in the first line on a phone, which the checker shows you. A title that shows in full everywhere is often under about 60 characters, but that depends on the letters you use.

YouTube description character limit

YouTube Help gives 5,000 characters for a description. The YouTube Data API documentation gives the limit as 5,000 bytes, which is the same for plain English text but smaller for text with accented letters, emoji or non-Latin scripts (most of them take 2 to 4 bytes each in UTF-8). The checker shows both counts, so you know when a long description in another language may fail in an upload tool that uses the API.

What shows before "more" in a YouTube description?

YouTube's description tips describe two parts: what viewers see before clicking Show more on a computer or more on a phone, and the rest. Only the first lines show, so use them to describe the video. The checker shows your first lines in a computer and a phone box (3 and 2 lines, approximate), keeping your line breaks.

YouTube hashtag limits

YouTube tags character limit

Tags share a 500-character limit. The YouTube API documentation explains how it is counted: the commas between tags count, and a tag that contains a space counts as if it were in quotation marks, which adds 2 characters. Open More options to count yours the same way.

How accurate is this checker?

The character, byte, hashtag and tag counts are exact for the text you paste. The limits are YouTube's, as published on 26 October 2026. The cut previews are estimates: they use our approximate widths and the Roboto font when your device has it (Arial otherwise), while YouTube's real layout changes with window size, zoom, app version, language and whether a badge or channel name shares the line. Use them to see which words are at risk.

Sources

Why we built this title length checker

Most character counters stop at a number, and the number is not what viewers see: a 90-character title is legal and still gets cut halfway in a phone feed. Nitin Raja, who builds PlaylistTime, tested a lot of these pages before building this one: after testing out a lot of websites, he found what people need and what they do not, and built around that. People need the limit, the cut in each layout, and the description and hashtag rules in one place, with the source for each.

What this tool measures

Related: preview the title with your thumbnail in the thumbnail preview tool.

Why it is different

This checkerA typical character counter
Title cutShown in four layouts, word by wordA single number
EmojiCounted as you see them, with the byte countOften counted as 2
DescriptionCharacters and the API's bytes, lines before moreCharacters only
Hashtags and tagsCounted with YouTube's rules, sourcedNot checked

Built by Nitin Raja. Last updated 26 October 2026.

Questions

How many characters can a YouTube title have?

100 characters, including spaces and emoji. The characters < and > are not allowed.

How long should a YouTube title be?

YouTube does not give a number; its tips say to keep titles short and put the most important words first, because viewers may only see part of it. Make sure the key words fit before the cut on a phone.

Where does YouTube cut off titles?

Most layouts show two lines and then an ellipsis. On our approximate layouts that is often around 50 to 70 characters; the checker shows the exact words for your title.

What is the YouTube description limit?

5,000 characters according to YouTube Help. The YouTube API counts 5,000 bytes, which is less for text with emoji or non-Latin scripts.

How many hashtags can I use on YouTube?

Up to 60. With more than 60, YouTube ignores all of them on that video. Up to three description hashtags YouTube picks can show by the title.

Do emoji count as one character?

They count toward the limit. This checker counts each emoji once as you see it; YouTube's own counter may count some emoji as two characters.

All of them in one place: YouTube creator tools.