YouTube Title and Description Length: Limits and Best Practice

The official limits

According to YouTube’s help pages, a video title can contain up to 100 characters and a video description up to 5,000 characters. Both fields also reject some characters that the system treats as invalid. The limits are the same for all uploaders, and they apply to the text as the system counts it.

The limits are generous, but the space people actually see is much smaller. A long title is cut in search results and on phones, and a description is folded after its first few lines.

What is shown of the title

In search results, in suggested videos and on phones, titles are shortened after a certain width, so a title of 100 characters is often cut. Many creators aim for around 60 characters, so that the whole title shows in most places. The exact cut-off depends on the device, so treat that number as a guide.

Put the main topic and the strongest words at the start. If the end is cut, the reader should still know what the video is about.

Writing a good title

A title should say what the viewer will get. Use the words people would type to find the video, but write for a person, not an algorithm. Avoid titles that only promise a surprise, because viewers who feel misled leave early, and that tells the platform the video did not satisfy them.

Keep the same style across a series so that viewers recognise it, and use numbers or a clear benefit where they are true. Avoid capital letters for whole words, which are wide and cut the title sooner.

What is shown of the description

Under the video, only the first lines of the description are visible until the viewer taps “more”. In search results, an even shorter excerpt is shown. The first sentence therefore carries most of the weight, and it should contain the main point and the main words.

Put important links near the top if you want them to be seen. Use the rest of the space for chapters with timestamps, credits, related videos, and a short explanation of the topic.

Using the 5,000 characters well

You do not have to fill the description. A clear paragraph of 150 to 300 words that explains the video, followed by chapters and links, serves viewers well. Repeating the same keywords many times does not help people and can look like spam.

A longer description is useful for videos with a transcript, many sources or a long list of timestamps. For these, check the total in the counter so that you stay below 5,000.

Hashtags, links and special characters

Hashtags in the description count as characters like any other text. Links count by their full length. If YouTube rejects a title or description that is below the limit, look for invalid characters such as angle brackets, and retype the text.

Emoji are allowed in titles and descriptions, but they count against the limits and may display differently across devices. Use them sparingly.

Titles and descriptions in other languages

If you publish in several languages, write each title natively and check its length. A title in Japanese can say much in 30 characters, while a title in German often needs 60 or more for the same idea. Keep the limit of 100 as the upper bound for all of them.

Use the counter for each language version, and look at how the title appears on a phone before you publish.

An example of a title rewrite

A draft title might read: “In this video I am going to show you everything you need to know about how to count characters and words in any text”. It has 116 characters and is over the limit. The key words sit in the middle and would be lost.

A rewrite such as “How to Count Characters and Words in Any Text” has 45 characters, puts the topic first and fits without a cut. The details can go into the first sentences of the description, where they are seen by people who want more.

Chapters and timestamps

Chapters are a part of the description that helps viewers move through a long video. A list of timestamps with short labels, starting at 0:00, is usually enough. Each label counts as characters, so a video with thirty chapters can use several hundred characters of the 5,000.

Write labels that tell the viewer what happens, not just a number. A clear chapter list makes a long video easier to use and gives you another place to describe the topic in plain words.

Titles and thumbnails work together

Viewers see a title together with a thumbnail, and the two should not repeat each other. If the thumbnail shows three words of text, the title can add the detail. A title that only repeats the thumbnail wastes some of its limited space.

Check the pair on a phone. If you can understand both at a glance, the combination works.

A quick checklist

• Title: up to 100 characters, with the key words in the first 60.
• Description: up to 5,000 characters, with the main point and links first.
• No invalid characters.
• Honest, specific wording.
• Checked on a phone.

Platforms change their layouts and sometimes their limits, so look at the current help pages before a big channel update.