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Instagram Stories Ad Character Limits
Stories ads have the tightest text limits on Meta — 90 visible primary text characters and 30-character headlines.
Instagram Stories ads have the tightest character limits in Meta's catalog. Primary text caps at 125 characters total — not 125 visible, 125 hard. Headline caps at 40 characters total. Descriptions are not used on Stories.
Why so tight? Stories are a sealed-slot format. The user has 5 to 15 seconds before the next Story rolls. There is no scroll-back, no See more affordance, no ability to expand the text. The platform built its character clamps around the actual time a viewer can spend reading, and the answer is "very little."
This means Stories ads must be written in a fundamentally different style than Feed ads. There is no warm-up, no proof, no closing argument. The 125-character primary text is the entire ad message. Most successful Stories ad copy fits in 70–90 characters and uses the rest as breathing room.
Stories ads cap visible primary text at 90 characters. Brutal.
30-char headline
Verified 2026 limits
| Field | Hard max | Visible before truncate | Warn at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary text | 125 | 90 | 80 |
| Headline | 40 | 40 | 30 |
Source: https://www.facebook.com/business/ads-guide/instagram-stories · Last verified 2026-04-15.
Sealed-slot discipline
Treat Stories like a 6-second commercial. Hook, payoff, CTA — that's the entire ad. Anything you write past 90 characters is a luxury most viewers won't read.
FAQ
- Why is Stories' visible window so tight?
- Because Stories are time-bounded. The user has 5–15 seconds before auto-advance. Long-form copy doesn't fit the format.
- Can I use See more on Stories?
- Stories has its own expansion affordance, but tap rates are negligible. Plan for the visible window to be the entire ad.
- Should I run different copy on Stories vs Feed?
- Yes. The same copy that performs on Feed is too long for Stories. Write Stories-native copy.
- Are Stories character limits the same on Facebook and Instagram?
- Yes. The numbers are identical between Facebook Stories and Instagram Stories.