How the hashtag checker works
What it checks
The checker reads your text and picks out every # followed by letters, digits or underscores, in any language. It skips link fragments, so https://example.com/page#top is not counted. For each tag it reports whether it is a duplicate (ignoring case), starts with a digit, runs past 100 characters, or contains a character that ends the tag early, such as a hyphen.
It also shows the share of your text that hashtags occupy, a count compared with each network's published numbers, and an accessibility suggestion: underscore tags such as #summer_vibes are rewritten to CamelCase (#SummerVibes), because screen readers read a capital letter as the start of a new word.
The rules it applies
Instagram: 30 hashtags per caption maximum, per the Instagram Graph API content publishing documentation. The 3 to 5 band is a figure Instagram's creator team has shared publicly, so it is shown as a suggestion rather than a rule. YouTube: per YouTube's help center, checked October 2026, a video with more than 60 hashtags has all of them ignored, and up to three appear above the title. Mastodon: per its documentation, tags use letters, digits and underscores and cannot be numbers only. Bluesky: its post schema stores each tag as a facet of at most 64 characters.
For TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook and Pinterest this tool applies no hashtag count limit, because we did not find a published one we could verify. It will not invent one. Tags that start with a digit are kept in the clean set with a soft warning, because they may not link on some networks.
Limitations
The CamelCase suggestion only rewrites tags with visible word breaks. An all lowercase run such as #summervibes cannot be split reliably without a dictionary, so the tool tells you to capitalize it yourself instead of guessing. Networks can change their numbers at any time, so check the in-app guidance before a big campaign.
Frequently asked questions
How many hashtags should I use on Instagram in 2026?
Instagram has publicly suggested using a small number of relevant hashtags, and 3 to 5 is the figure its creator team has shared. The hard cap in the Instagram API documentation is 30 per caption. This checker marks anything above 5 as above that suggested range and anything above 30 as over the cap. Treat 3 to 5 as advice, not a rule.
Why is my hashtag not clickable?
The usual causes are a hyphen, apostrophe, space or symbol inside the tag (only letters, digits and underscores link), a tag made only of numbers, or a tag made of digits only. The checker shows exactly which character stops the tag and what the network will actually link.
Do hashtags count toward the character limit on X, Threads and Bluesky?
Yes. A hashtag is ordinary text, so #LaunchDay uses 9 characters of an X post (280), a Threads post (500) or a Bluesky post (300). The share of your text taken by hashtags is shown so you can see what to trim.
Are duplicate hashtags a problem?
A repeated tag adds length and looks careless without adding reach. The checker treats #Travel, #travel and #TRAVEL as the same tag, keeps the first one and drops the rest from the clean set.
Can this tool tell me if a hashtag is banned?
No. Networks do not publish lists of restricted hashtags, and any list found online cannot be verified, so the checker makes no banned hashtag claims. It only checks what can be checked: count, spelling rules and length.
Should hashtags go in the caption or in the first comment?
Both work on Instagram, so it is a style choice. A first comment keeps the caption clean. The Move to first comment option splits a trailing hashtag block from the caption and leaves any hashtags that sit inside a sentence where they are.