How Long Should a YouTube Title Be? (The 100-Character Limit Isn't the Real One)

YouTube's official limit for a video title is 100 characters, including spaces. That's the ceiling. The number that actually matters is lower and moving: how much of your title a viewer sees before YouTube cuts it off with an ellipsis.

This guide covers where titles get truncated, why there's no single "correct" length, and a simple way to write titles that survive the cut on every screen.

The short answer

• Hard limit: 100 characters.
• Practical target: make sure the part that earns the click fits in roughly the first 40–60 characters.
• Total length: anything up to 100 is fine as long as the ending is a bonus, not the reason to click.

There's no magic number because YouTube truncates by pixel width, not character count, and the width changes with the screen.

Why truncation is by width, not characters

Letters are different widths. "WWWWWWWWWW" takes far more room than "iiiiiiiiii". A title full of capital letters and wide letters (M, W) gets cut sooner than one with narrow ones. Numbers, punctuation and emoji take their own space too.

On top of that, the space available changes:

• Desktop home feed: titles sit under a thumbnail in a grid, usually clamped to two lines. The grid's column width changes with your window size.
• Desktop search results: the title sits next to a thumbnail with more horizontal room.
• Mobile home feed: full-width thumbnails, title under it, typically up to two lines at a smaller size.
• Suggested videos (sidebar): narrow column, small text, often two lines. This is where titles get cut earliest.
• TV apps and embeds: different again.

So the question isn't "how many characters?", it's "what does a viewer see in the tightest spot where my video will appear?"

A worked example

Take this 69-character title:

"I Tested 7 Budget Microphones So You Don't Have To (Winner Under $40)"

In a roomy desktop search result, most or all of it shows. In the suggested-videos sidebar or on a narrow phone, it's likely to be cut somewhere around "…So You Don't Have To". The part that's most interesting — a winner under $40 — is exactly what disappears.

Rewrite with the hook first:

"The Best Mic Under $40 (I Tested 7 Budget Mics)"

Now even if it's cut after "(I Tested 7", the promise is intact. The ending became supporting detail rather than the reason to click.

The "survives the cut" method

Write your title in two parts:

1. The hook — the promise, number, result, or tension. This goes first and should make sense on its own.
2. The support — context, a qualifier, a keyword, a year, a parenthetical. This goes after and can be cut without hurting the click.

Examples:

If your hook alone isn't clickable, the title needs a new angle — not more words. Our guide to writing titles that get clicks has eight formulas to start from.

Short titles vs long titles

Short titles (under ~40 characters) are completely visible everywhere and punchy in browse feeds. The risk is vagueness: "My New Setup" is short but gives no reason to click.

Medium titles (~40–70 characters) are where most good titles land. Room for specificity and a hook, and most of it shows in most places.

Long titles (70–100 characters) work for search-heavy videos where you want the searchable phrase and a hook and a qualifier. Just make sure the first chunk works alone.

There's no evidence that a particular length is rewarded by YouTube's systems for its own sake. Length is about what the viewer sees, not about an algorithm preference.

Special cases

Shorts

Shorts titles show over the video in the Shorts feed, where attention is on the video itself. Short, punchy titles tend to fit better. We cover this in how to title YouTube Shorts.

Titles with a series name or episode number

Put the series name last: "The Cheapest Flight to Tokyo I Could Find | Budget Travel Ep. 12". Your regulars will recognise the series from the thumbnail; strangers need the hook first.

Titles in other languages

Some languages and scripts need more width per word. If you publish translated titles, check them in the preview as well — a title that fits in English may be cut much sooner in German, for example.

Emoji

An emoji can add colour, but it takes up space and can render differently across devices. If you use one, don't put it at the start of the title where it displaces the hook.

Checklist: is your title the right length?

1. Is it under 100 characters? (If not, YouTube won't accept it.)
2. Does the first 40 or so characters work on its own as a reason to click?
3. Would losing the last third change whether someone clicks? If yes, reorder.
4. Is anything in the title just padding — "video", "official", "full", "new", repeated keywords?
5. Have you previewed it in the narrowest place it will appear (the suggested sidebar)?

Once the length is right, score the title to see whether the visible part is actually strong.

Length by video type

Different kinds of videos tend to suit different lengths:

Tutorials and how-tos (often 50–80 characters). The searchable phrase takes room ("How to Change a Bike Chain"), and a short hook after it helps you stand out ("…Without the Special Tool"). As long as the phrase and the start of the hook are early, the tail can be cut.

Reviews (often 40–70). Product name first for search, then the verdict or angle: "Sony ZV-E10 II Review: The One Thing Nobody Mentions".

Stories, challenges and experiments (often 30–60). These live on browse, where the hook is everything. Shorter titles with one strong idea tend to read faster in a feed: "I Lived on $10 a Day in London".

Lists (often 35–65). The number and the outcome carry the title: "9 Kitchen Tools I Use Every Day".

Shorts (often under 40). The title is overlaid on the video and read at a glance.

These aren't rules; they're where good titles of each type usually land. Always check the visible part in the preview.

Trimming a long title: a worked example

Start: "My Honest Review of the New Budget Standing Desk After Using It Every Day for Three Months" (88 characters). The interesting part — three months of daily use — is at the very end.

Step 1 — find the hook. What's the most interesting true thing? Three months of real use, and there's a verdict.

Step 2 — lead with it. "3 Months With a Budget Standing Desk: Honest Review" (51 characters).

Step 3 — sharpen with a specific. If the verdict is surprising, say so: "3 Months With a $199 Standing Desk: One Big Problem" (51 characters).

Step 4 — check the cut. Even cut at 40 characters ("3 Months With a $199 Standing Desk: One…"), the hook survives.

We went from 88 characters with a buried hook to 51 characters that work everywhere — and the title got more interesting, not less.

Words you can almost always delete

When a title is too long, these usually go first:

• "My honest review of" → "Review"
• "In this video I…" → delete
• "Everything you need to know about" → name the specific thing instead
• "Official", "full video", "new" → rarely add meaning
• The year, unless recency genuinely matters to the viewer (tech, prices, rules)
• Repeated keywords → once is enough

Frequently asked questions

What is the character limit for a YouTube title?

100 characters, including spaces.

How many characters of a YouTube title are visible?

It varies because YouTube truncates by width, not characters. In tight spots like the suggested-videos sidebar or a narrow phone feed, titles are often cut somewhere around 40–60 characters. Put the hook first so the cut never removes it.

Is a longer YouTube title better for SEO?

Not in itself. A clear topic phrase near the start is enough for YouTube to understand the video. Extra keywords at the end rarely help and can push the hook out of view.

Should I use all 100 characters?

Only if the extra characters add useful context for searchers. Most strong titles are well under 100; the important thing is that the visible part earns the click.

Do YouTube titles get cut off on mobile?

Yes. On mobile, titles are usually limited to about two lines, so long titles end with an ellipsis. Preview yours with our title length checker.

The takeaway

The limit is 100 characters, but your real budget is whatever fits in the narrowest place your video appears. Put the hook first, let the ending be optional, and preview before you publish.