What is the X Premium character limit?
Facts checked July 2026
X Premium subscribers can publish posts up to 25,000 characters, versus 280 weighted characters on free accounts. Long posts display collapsed in the timeline: roughly the first 280 characters show, followed by a 'Show more' link that expands the full text. Premium also unlocks bold and italic text formatting inside posts.
| Premium post limit | 25,000 characters |
|---|---|
| Free account limit | 280 weighted characters |
| Shown before the fold | ~280 characters + 'Show more' |
| Text formatting | Bold and italic (Premium) |
| Applies to | All paid tiers (Basic, Premium, Premium+) |
The 25,000-character ceiling effectively turns a post into an article: at typical prose density that's roughly 4,000-5,000 words. The limit grew in steps: 4,000 characters at launch in February 2023, then 10,000, then 25,000 later that year, alongside formatting support.
The strategic question isn't the ceiling, it's the fold. Since only the opening ~280 characters render in the timeline, a long post lives or dies on its first lines exactly like a short one. Writers who move from threads to long posts keep writing timeline-grade hooks and treat everything after the fold as the article body.
Long post or thread? A long post keeps readers in one place and reads like an essay; a thread gives every beat its own shot at the timeline and its own engagement surface. Material with strong sequential beats (a story, a ranked list) still tends to travel further as a thread; unified arguments read better as one long post.
Check your post against the limit
Live weighted count via the official twitter-text parser, entirely in your browser.
Frequently asked
Does the weighted counting (links = 23) apply to Premium long posts?
X documents the weighted rules for the 280 limit but has never published how the 25,000 cap counts. Links are near-certainly still 23, since t.co wrapping happens server-side on every post; how emoji and CJK are weighted against 25,000 isn't documented. Either way the timeline preview cuts around the 280 mark, so the opening is what competes for attention.
Which Premium tier do I need for long posts?
All paid tiers include the raised limit. The tiers differ mainly in ads, the checkmark, reply boost strength, and monetization features, not in the character ceiling.
Do long posts perform better than threads?
Neither wins universally. Threads generate more timeline entries and impressions per idea; long posts hold attention better once opened. Test both against your own engagement data rather than folklore.
More limits
Fitting the limit is easy. Sounding like you is the hard part.
Voxly drafts X posts in your voice, learned from your timeline, and publishes in one tap. Free plan, no card.