How Many Hashtags Should You Use?

Older advice often suggested filling every available hashtag slot. Instagram now limits posts and Reels to five hashtags. Other platforms have different rules and recommendations, so this guide separates published thresholds from practical suggestions.

Instagram: five

Instagram announced a limit of five hashtags per post or Reel in December 2025, and reports said posts with more than five would not publish. Rollouts can differ by account and region, so confirm the rule in Instagram's Help Center. If you have old 20- or 30-tag blocks saved, trim them down to the five that describe each post most accurately.

YouTube: keep it small; over 60 is ignored

YouTube says that if a video or playlist has more than 60 hashtags, all hashtags on that content are ignored. Up to three hashtags from the description may appear above the video title. A small set of two or three relevant hashtags is easier to review. This is separate from the hidden Tags field.

TikTok, Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Pinterest

TikTok does not publish a fixed hashtag count, but hashtags count towards your caption length, so a few short, relevant ones are enough. On Facebook and X, one to three tags read naturally. LinkedIn works best with two to four professional tags. On Pinterest, descriptive titles and descriptions usually matter more than tags.

How to choose your count

Start from the post, not the limit. Write down every tag that honestly describes it, then keep the best few. If you are at the platform limit, prefer a mix: one broad tag for context, then more specific tags. If you have tags left over, put them in a note for the next post instead of squeezing them in.

A simple rule of thumb

Use as few tags as you need to describe the post accurately. A short, relevant set is cleaner, complies with platform limits and is easy to adjust. Our topic pages include a 'Copy best 5' button so you can start from a compact set and swap tags as needed.

Count the right way

Treat a platform's published threshold and your working set as two different numbers. A threshold tells you what the platform can reject or ignore; it does not tell you that filling the threshold is a good strategy. Start with the few tags that describe the post, then stop. If you are creating a reusable content system, save several small sets instead of one huge list. This is easier to review when a platform changes its rules and easier to adapt between a Reel, a long-form video, a professional post and a local business announcement.