YouTube Description Counter
Count your description against 5,000 characters and your title against 100. Free.
YouTube description and title limits
A YouTube description can be up to 5,000 characters and a video title up to 100 characters. This tool counts both together. Only about the first 100 characters of the description show above the "Show more" fold, and titles are visually truncated around 60 to 70 characters in search and suggested feeds, so both need their key information up front.
Use the whole 5,000
The description is prime real estate for search and for viewers. Put your hook, the main keyword and your most important link in the first two lines, above the fold. Below that, use the space for timestamps (which create chapters), a fuller summary, relevant links and a couple of related keywords. A complete, keyword-aware description helps YouTube understand and recommend the video, so filling more of the 5,000 with genuinely useful text usually beats a one-line description.
Common questions
What is the YouTube description character limit? 5,000 characters for the description and 100 for the title.
How much of the description is visible? Around the first 100 characters before "Show more", so front-load the hook and main link.
Does the description help SEO? Yes. A full, relevant description gives YouTube context, which can improve search and suggested placement.
Related: YouTube scheduler and the YouTube title checker.
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