Facebook Ad Text Length for Primary Text and Headlines

Meta’s character counts are guidance about what fits on screen before the text is cut off, and different Meta pages give different numbers. The Help Center’s figures for most placements are 125 characters for primary text, 40 for the headline and 25 for the description. The Ads Guide sets shorter targets for some formats. Write to the shortest number for the placements you use, and check the preview.

What character counts does Meta recommend?

Field	Help Center, most placements	Ads Guide, Facebook Feed image	Ads Guide, Facebook Feed carousel
Primary text	125 characters	50–150 characters	80 characters
Headline	40 characters	27 characters	20 characters
Description	25 characters	Not listed	18 characters

The lead ads design page uses 125, 40 and 30 characters for primary text, headline and description. Meta explains that these recommended lengths describe how much ad copy may display on smaller screens, and that text may be truncated further depending on platform and device.

What happens if your text is longer than the recommendation?

Meta says text that exceeds the recommendation may be truncated, and that it can be truncated further across placements and devices. Its advice is to keep text as short as possible to limit truncation, with primary text spanning one to three lines at most.

How long can an Instagram ad caption be?

Meta’s Instagram Feed design page says the caption appears in a bottom sheet when tapped and may include up to 63,000 characters. It recommends against putting URLs in Instagram ad text, because they are not clickable there. Meta’s carousel design page allows up to 30 hashtags in Instagram ad text.

Is there a limit on text inside the ad image?

No. Meta’s image best-practice page states there is no longer a limit on the amount of text in an ad image, and the text overlay tool is no longer available. Meta still advises that any text on an image should not obstruct the visuals and should use a clean font in a large enough size with a contrasting colour.

How do you control the text Meta shows?

1. Enter your own primary text, headline and description rather than leaving fields blank.
2. Add several text options per field if you want Meta to test variations.
3. Use placement asset customization to write shorter copy for placements such as Stories.
4. Review Advantage+ creative enhancements, since text improvements may adjust your wording.
5. Preview each placement before publishing to see where text is cut.

Meta warns that a blank text field may be filled with text pulled from your destination website URL, which you may not be able to edit. If you build the ad from an existing Facebook Page post, you cannot edit its text in the ad creative.

FAQ

Is 125 characters a hard limit for primary text?

Meta calls 125 characters the recommended primary text length for most placements. It says text that exceeds the character limitation may be truncated, and may be truncated further on some placements and devices. The Ads Guide’s Facebook Feed image spec gives a 50–150 character range instead, so check the guidance for your format.

Why do Meta’s pages give different numbers?

The figures come from different pages written for different formats. The Help Center gives one set for most placements, while the Ads Guide lists separate values for Feed image ads and Feed carousel ads. When they differ, follow the Ads Guide entry for your exact format and placement, then confirm in preview.

Can Meta write extra versions of my text?

Yes, if you use its tools. Meta’s text generation feature can create up to 5 variations of your primary text and headline from what you enter. Advantage+ creative enhancements such as text improvements may also adjust your text, and some enhancements are on by default.