Instagram caption length and hashtag limits
From Instagram's Help Center and Meta's developer documentation, checked November 2026.
- Caption length
Up to 2,200 characters
The maximum Meta gives for a caption in its developer documentation. Most captions need far less: the ones this tool writes aim for under 600.
- Hashtags per post
Up to 5
Instagram's Help Center: “You can use up to 5 tags on a post.” Include more than 5 on a single photo or video and the comment won't post.
- Where hashtags go
In the caption or a comment
Both work, per the Help Center. To add a hashtag to a post that is already up, edit the caption or put it in a comment on the post.
- What a hashtag can hold
Letters and numbers
Numbers are allowed; spaces and special characters such as $ or % won't work. Posts from a private profile don't show publicly on hashtag pages; a public account's do.
Instagram caption examples by post type
Written for this page to show the shape the generator aims for: a first line that makes sense on its own, a line or two of substance, one call to action, and a few hashtags at the end where they don't get in the way of the reading.
Reel: a quick how-to
Three swaps that cut my weekly food shop. Frozen spinach, dried beans, oats by the kilo. All three keep for weeks. Which one are you trying first? #mealprep #budgetcooking
171 characters · 2 hashtags
Carousel: tips to save
Save this before your next flight. Swipe for the 5 things I pack in every carry-on. Number 4 got me through a 9-hour delay. Send it to the friend who always overpacks. #carryon #packingtips #travel
197 characters · 3 hashtags
Product post: a small shop
Back in stock: the linen tote in sand. Same stitching as before, now with a deeper inside pocket. Tap the link in our bio to get one. #handmade #totebag
152 characters · 2 hashtags
Photo: a milestone
One year of the bakery, in one photo. Thank you to everyone who queued in the rain on opening day. What should we bake for the birthday week? #smallbusiness #bakery
164 characters · 2 hashtags
Schedule the caption with your post
Versely's Auto Post sends one caption with your Reel, photo or carousel to Instagram and up to 8 other networks, now or at a time you pick. Its Write with AI button drafts a caption from what you attach, or rewrites yours, in one of four tones for 1 credit, and suggests hashtags you can click to add. Posting is unlimited, to up to 10 accounts on Weekly and Standard and up to 100 on Pro. Without a plan, each account a post goes to is 1 credit. How Auto Post works.
Free on the web and on iPhone, one account.
More free social media tools
Same quality bar. Still free. Still no upload.
Part of free Instagram tools.
Unlike most tools here, this one is not on-device: the topic you type is sent to Versely's server, where a Google Gemini model writes the options. We don't store what you type, only a daily usage counter per visitor.
How it works
1. Describe the post
What the photo, carousel or Reel shows, in a few words. Add a product name, place or real offer as keywords.
2. Pick a tone and generate
A Gemini model on Versely's server writes six captions. Any with more than 5 hashtags are dropped before you see them.
3. Edit and copy
Change anything that isn't true for you, watch the character and hashtag counts, and copy the caption into Instagram.
Questions
What kinds of Instagram captions can it write?
Describe a photo, carousel or Reel, then pick one of eight tones: friendly, funny, bold, professional, inspiring, calm, witty or educational. You get up to six captions in different styles (short, story-led, list-style, question-led, playful and direct), each with a first line, a call to action and at most 3 hashtags. Add a product name, place or real offer as a keyword and it is worked in.
How do I write a good Instagram caption?
Put the point in the first line, because a long caption is cut off after a few lines with a 'more' link in the feed. Say one clear thing, end with one call to action, and keep hashtags to a few that match the post; Instagram accepts up to 5. The generator follows that shape, but only you know what is true about your post, so edit the draft before you publish.
How long can an Instagram caption be, and how many hashtags?
Meta's developer documentation gives 2,200 characters for a caption. Instagram's Help Center says you can use up to 5 hashtags on a post (both checked November 2026). The captions here are written to stay under 600 characters, with 0 to 3 hashtags, and the counts under each one update as you edit.
Is this the same as an AI caption generator for videos?
No. This writes the text that goes under an Instagram post. On-screen captions, the subtitles burned into a video, are a different job: use Versely's AI caption generator or the free burn-captions tool for that.
Will it invent details about my post?
It is told not to invent prices, offers, results or before-and-after details you didn't give it. It can still add a detail that sounds plausible, so read each caption and remove anything that isn't true before you post.
Which AI writes this, and is anything I type stored?
A Google Gemini Flash model, called from Versely's server; if Google's API is down, the same request goes to a Gemini model through a backup provider. A separate safety classifier checks your topic first. Versely does not save what you type. The server keeps two counters: one per connection, keyed by a one-way hash of your IP address, and a site-wide total. Both expire within about a day. Your text is sent to the model provider only to write the options.
How many free generations do I get?
Ten a day per connection, and the page shows how many you have left after each run. The count resets at midnight UTC. A failed or empty run does not count. There is also a site-wide daily cap that keeps the tool free for everyone; if it is reached, the page says so. Topics can be up to 200 characters and keywords up to 150.
Does it work without JavaScript?
No. The page and this help text load without scripts, but the generator is a small script that sends your topic to Versely's server and shows the options it gets back. If scripts are blocked, allow them for versely.studio, or write in the Versely app instead.
Related tools
Stay in the same job cluster. Free tools stay on-device; paid tools are labelled as such.
These rearrange files. Versely makes new ones.
Everything on this page works on a file you already have, which is why it costs nothing. Generating something that did not exist (video from a prompt, a voice, a score) runs a model, and that costs credits.