Exactly How Many Hashtags to Use Per Platform

8 min read

Last updated November 12, 2026

How many hashtags to use depends on the platform. Instagram now allows five per post, X suggests two or fewer, and LinkedIn advises no more than three.

YouTube shows up to three above a video title. Threads takes one topic tag, and Pinterest works better with plain keywords.

The old habit of stuffing 30 tags under every post no longer helps. Below you will find the right count for each app and how to pick tags that actually work.

The Quick Answer by Platform

Platform	How many to use	Why
Instagram	Up to 5	Instagram now caps posts and Reels at five
YouTube	3 to 5	Up to three show above the title
X	1 or 2	X suggests two or fewer per post
LinkedIn	Up to 3	More starts to look cluttered
Threads	1	Threads allows one topic tag per post
TikTok	3 to 5	A few relevant tags beat a long list
Facebook	1 to 3	Tags matter less than the post itself
Pinterest	0	Keywords in the description do the work

Key Takeaways

Fewer, more relevant hashtags now beat long lists everywhere.
Instagram limits posts and Reels to five hashtags.
YouTube ignores every hashtag on a video that has more than 60.
Mix one or two broad tags with a few specific ones.

Jump to

Why fewer tags now win
Instagram
YouTube
X and Threads
LinkedIn and Facebook
TikTok and Pinterest
How to pick the right tags
Frequently asked questions

Why Fewer Hashtags Now Win

Hashtags began as a simple way to group posts by topic. Over time, people started adding dozens of loosely related tags to chase reach.

Apps noticed. Long lists of generic tags made search results messy and rewarded spam over useful posts.

So the platforms changed course. Today their recommendation systems lean on your caption, your audio and how people react, not just the tags.

That makes each hashtag a label, not a lottery ticket. A few precise labels help the right people find you, while extra ones add noise.

60Past 60 hashtags, YouTube ignores every tag on a video, per the YouTube hashtag help page.

Instagram Allows Five Hashtags Now

Instagram used to allow 30 hashtags on a post. In December 2025 it began limiting captions on posts and Reels to five, as Social Media Today reported.

Instagram said a few targeted tags work better than many generic ones. The limit rolled out gradually and is meant to apply to everyone.

How to use your five

One broad tag for your main topic, such as #HomeCooking.
Two tags for the exact subject, such as #VeganDessert.
One tag for your community or location.
One branded tag, if you have one.

Put the tags at the end of your caption. Your first lines should hook the reader, because only the start shows before “more”.

Quick tip. Search each tag on Instagram before you use it. If the top posts look nothing like yours, choose a closer tag.

YouTube Shows Three Above the Title

You can add hashtags to a video title or description on YouTube. Up to three of them appear above the title as clickable links.

Tapping a hashtag opens a page of other videos with the same tag. That page is one more place viewers can find you.

YouTube also sets a firm upper limit. A video with more than 60 hashtags loses all of them, and over-tagging can get it pulled from search.

Relevance matters as well. The YouTube spam policy warns against misleading metadata, so every tag should match the video.

Hashtags versus tags on YouTube

YouTube has a separate Tags field in Studio. Those plain keywords are hidden from viewers and mainly help with spelling mistakes.

Hashtags, by contrast, are visible and clickable. Use three to five strong ones in the description and keep the rest for the Tags field.

X and Threads Want Just One or Two

The X help center suggests two hashtags or fewer per post. You can add more, but short posts quickly start to look crowded.

X also notes that hashtags with spaces or punctuation will not work. Write them as one word, such as #SmallBusiness.

Threads goes even further. It allows only one topic tag per post, as Social Media Today explained when the feature launched.

Threads topic tags can include spaces, unlike normal hashtags. Pick the single topic that best describes your post and skip the rest.

How many hashtags do you usually add to a post?

None
One to three
Four to ten
Not sure

LinkedIn and Facebook Need Only a Few

LinkedIn advises using no more than three hashtags per post. More than that can make a post look cluttered and turn readers away.

LinkedIn also says hashtags should sit in the post text itself. Tags added in the comments do not work the same way.

Facebook gives hashtags even less weight. One to three relevant tags can group a post with others, but the post text matters far more.

On both networks, a clear first line does more for reach than any tag. Spend your effort there first.

TikTok and Pinterest Work Differently

TikTok

TikTok sets no small official number for hashtags. Even so, three to five relevant tags tend to work better than a long list.

TikTok search reads your caption, on-screen text and spoken words too. A caption that names the topic clearly often matters as much as the tags.

Pinterest acts more like a search engine than a feed. People type keywords, so plain words in your pin title and description do the heavy lifting.

Write a natural description that uses the words people search for. Hashtags add little there, so most creators leave them out.

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How to Pick Hashtags That Actually Work

The right count means little if the tags themselves are wrong. Follow these steps for every post.

Write one sentence that says what the post is about.
Pull out the two or three most important words.
Turn them into tags, such as #VeganMugCake.
Add one broad tag that a bigger audience follows.
Search each tag and check that top posts match yours.
Trim the list to the right number for the platform.

Skip spammy tags like #follow4follow or #like4like. They attract low-quality accounts and can make your post look less trustworthy.

Also avoid tags that only ride a trend. If the post is not about that topic, viewers feel tricked and scroll away.

Good to know. Platforms change their rules often. Check the limits again every few months, especially on Instagram and Threads.

Generate the Right Number in Seconds

Remembering every rule for every app is hard. The free Postlume hashtag generator handles it for you.

Pick the platform, describe your post in one sentence and tap Get free ideas. It returns the right count, such as five for Instagram or one for Threads.

For YouTube, it also fills the 500-character Tags field. For Pinterest, it gives keywords instead of hashtags.

Want tags written for your exact post? The Digieh AI option sorts them into a best mix, broad tags and niche tags.

Your caption matters too. Write it with the Postlume description generator, then post a question with the first comment generator.

Should You Create a Branded Hashtag?

A branded hashtag is a tag only you use, such as your shop name. It gathers your posts and customer photos in one place.

It works best once people already know you. A brand-new tag with no posts brings little reach on its own.

Keep it short, easy to spell and unique. Search it first to make sure nobody else already uses it for something else.

Then use it as one of your allowed tags, not an extra. On Instagram, that still means five tags in total.

Ask happy customers to add it when they post. Over time, the tag becomes a gallery of real reviews and ideas.

Events and challenges suit branded tags too. A one-word tag for a giveaway or launch makes entries easy to track.

Common Hashtag Mistakes

Mistake	Better choice
Using 30 tags on Instagram	Pick the five most relevant
Adding spaces inside a tag	Write it as one word
Same tags on every post	Match tags to each topic
Only huge, generic tags	Mix broad and specific tags
Tags that do not match	Use only tags your post is about

Writing a blog post instead? Search engines read your title, not hashtags. Our guide to writing search engine optimization (SEO) titles covers that side.