YouTube Title and Description Length Limits
Published 2026-09-23 · 5 min read · YTDetective
TL;DR
- YouTube Help sets the limits at 100 characters for a title and 5,000 for a description.
- Neither field can include invalid characters. YouTube Help does not list them on the page we read, and our checker flags the angle brackets < and >.
- YouTube suggests using the first few lines of a description to describe the video, because that is what viewers see first.
- Where a title gets cut off varies with the place and the letters used, so treat any cut-off figure as a guide.
There are two different questions about length. One is what YouTube will accept. The other is what viewers will actually see before the text is cut with an ellipsis. The first has firm answers. The second has approximate ones, and it is worth being clear about which is which.
The limits YouTube sets
YouTube Help, read on 2026-09-23, says video titles have a character limit of 100 characters and descriptions a limit of 5,000 characters, and that neither can include invalid characters. On the page we read, the list of invalid characters is not spelled out. Our Title and Description Length Checker flags angle brackets, < and >, which is a check we built, not a list quoted from YouTube.
Characters are counted the way you read them, so an emoji counts as one.
What to put first
The description tips page on YouTube Help says to consider using the first few lines to describe the video, because that is what viewers see first. It also suggests picking one or two main words that describe the video and using them prominently in both the title and the description.
That advice has a practical consequence. Whatever is cut off is the part viewers never read, so the strongest information belongs early in both fields.
Where text gets cut off
The visible length of a title depends on where it appears. Our checker uses rule-of-thumb character counts, and it labels them as such.
| Where | Approximate characters shown |
|---|---|
| Title in desktop search | about 70 |
| Title in the home grid | about 60 |
| Title in the mobile feed | about 55 |
| Title in the suggested sidebar | about 50 |
| Description in a search snippet | about 150 |
| Description collapsed on the watch page | about 100 |
Cut-off points used by the Title and Description Length Checker (rules of thumb, not official numbers)
These are not YouTube figures. YouTube truncates by rendered width, not by character count, so a title made of wide letters is cut earlier and one made of narrow letters later. The point of the table is the order: the sidebar cuts sooner than search, so the words that carry the meaning should come first.
- 01
Put the main idea in the first 50 characters
That is the shortest of the cut-offs above, so the first half of the title is what usually survives.
- 02
Write the description's first two lines for a reader who never clicks "more"
The first lines are what viewers see first, according to YouTube Help.
- 03
Run the text through the checker
It counts characters, flags angle brackets and shows the title cut in each layout, so you can see what a viewer would.
An example
Take an 87-character title: "How I Grew My Channel From Zero to 1,000 Subscribers in 90 Days Without Buying Anything". It is inside the 100-character limit, so YouTube accepts it. With our rule-of-thumb cut-offs, a viewer would see "How I Grew My Channel From Zero to 1,000…" in the suggested sidebar, "…Subscribers in…" added on the mobile feed, "…in 90…" in the home grid and "…in 90 Days…" in desktop search. In every layout the last part, "Without Buying Anything", is cut, and it may be the most interesting words in the title. Moving it earlier changes what every viewer sees. Real cut-offs move with the letters and the device.
Confidence note
The 100 and 5,000 character limits come from YouTube Help as read on 2026-09-23. The cut-off figures are our rules of thumb and vary with the device, the layout and the letters used. YouTube changes its interface often, so a figure that works today may not next year.
FAQ
How long can a YouTube title be?
YouTube Help says 100 characters.
How long can a description be?
5,000 characters, according to YouTube Help.
Does a longer description help me rank?
YouTube Help does not say so on the page we read. It advises putting a description of the video in the first few lines.
Why does my title look different in the checker and on YouTube?
The checker's cut-offs are rules of thumb. YouTube cuts by rendered width, which depends on the letters and the device.
Related reading
Sources
- YouTube Help: Edit video settings · read on 2026-09-23
- YouTube Help: Tips for video descriptions · read on 2026-09-23