Explainer

Facebook ad text limits: headline, primary text and description character limits by placement

Meta's Ads Guide recommends a Facebook ad headline of 27 characters in Facebook Feed and 40 characters in most other placements, primary text of 125 characters (50 to 150 in Facebook Feed) and a description of 30 characters or fewer. These are recommended lengths, not hard maximums: Meta says longer text may be truncated, and none of its pages read for this post states an upper limit. Primary text is the main message, the headline is the short line beside the button, and the description is an extra line that does not always show.

Last updated 13 October 2026

Facebook ad headline, description and primary text: what each one is

A single image or video ad has three text fields. Meta's steps for creating an ad name them when you set up the creative: primary text, which the page describes as the main message, then headline, description and the destination URL. Our post on what ad creative is covers the other parts.

Primary text. The main copy. In a feed it is the caption-style text with the image; Meta's page on collection ads says that on Facebook Feed it appears above the media.
Headline. The short line in the footer of the ad, next to the call-to-action button.
Description. An extra line with the headline. Meta's text generation instructions say it should contain only non-essential information.

Formats differ. The same creation page says each carousel card has its own media, headline and link, and that a collection ad may require a headline. Everything here is from Meta's pages as they read on 13 October 2026; they are undated and change often.

Facebook ad character limit by placement

There is no single Facebook ad character limit. Meta's Ads Guide gives a recommended length for each field in each placement, under the heading "Text recommendations". The figures below are from the image ad page for each placement, except where the row says otherwise. A dash means that page lists no figure for the field.

Recommended text lengths in characters, from the Meta Ads Guide on 13 October 2026
Placement	Primary text	Headline	Description
Facebook Feed	50 to 150	27	-
Instagram feed	125	40	-
Instagram Explore home	125	40	-
Facebook Stories	125	40	-
Instagram Stories	125	-	-
Facebook Reels	40	55	-
Instagram Reels	44	-	-
Facebook right column	-	40	-
Facebook Marketplace	125	40	30
Facebook search results	125	40	30
Carousel in Facebook Feed (per card)	80	20	18
Collection in Facebook Feed	125	40	-
Threads feed (from the Help Centre)	80 to 160	40	-

The Instagram feed and Explore pages also give a maximum of 30 hashtags. Video pages mostly match, with two differences worth knowing: the Instagram feed video page lists only primary text (125), and the Marketplace video page lists only a headline, at 25. Threads feed is not a placement in the Ads Guide; its figures come from Meta's page about ads on Threads, which adds that URLs are not supported in primary text there. Our post on Threads ads has more. For image and video dimensions, see the Meta ad sizes guide.

Is the Facebook ad headline character limit a hard maximum?

No. The Facebook ad headline character limit that people quote, 27 or 40, is a recommendation. The Ads Guide calls its figures recommendations, and the pages read for this post give no maximum for any of the three fields.

What Meta does say is on its page of creative best practices for text in ads: text may be truncated if it runs past the limit, the recommended length for most placements is 125 characters of primary text, a 40-character headline and a 25-character description, and text may be cut further depending on placement and device. Its advice is to keep text as short as possible.

In practice, long primary text in a feed is cut off and the rest sits behind a "See more" link, so only the opening lines are certain to be read. For Stories, Meta's page on creative optimisations for Instagram Stories ads says Instagram may vary how many lines show before a person has to tap for the rest. Note that the Help Centre's general figure for a description (25) and the Ads Guide's figure for Marketplace (30) differ. Where two Meta pages disagree, the shorter number is the safer one to write to.

Do the headline and description always show?

No. Meta's pages describe several cases where a field is dropped or moved.

Some placements have no slot for it. The Ads Guide lists no headline for Instagram Stories or Instagram Reels, and no primary text for the Facebook right column. Meta's collection ad specifications say that on Instagram feed only the primary text of a collection ad appears, and recommend supplying both fields if the ad runs on both apps.
Some objectives hide the footer. Meta's page on ads that render incorrectly says that with the Awareness objective, or a reach, impressions or 2-second video view performance goal, a video ad's footer (headline, description, button and URL) is not displayed in Facebook Feed on mobile.
Meta may move your text. The same page says that with Optimise text per person enabled, text you provide may appear in any position in the ad, alongside any other text you provided.

This suggests a simple rule: the primary text has to make sense alone, and nothing essential belongs only in the description.

Facebook ad headline examples at each length

These Facebook ad headline examples are illustrative only. They are written for an invented product, a steel water bottle, to show what each recommended length allows. They are not taken from any real advertiser's ads.

Illustrative headlines for an invented product at Meta's recommended lengths
Recommended length	Where it applies	Example	Characters
20	Carousel card in Facebook Feed	Cold for 24 hours	17
27	Facebook Feed	Keeps water cold for a day	26
40	Instagram feed, Stories, Marketplace	The steel bottle that stays cold all day	40

Twenty-seven characters is four or five short words. If one ad runs in several placements, a headline written to the shortest length fits them all.

Text inside the image: is there still a 20% rule?

Advertisers still ask about a rule limiting text to 20% of the image. None of Meta's pages read for this post mentions a 20% figure. Its page of best practices for image ads now opens with a note that there is no longer a limit on the amount of text in an ad image. The remaining advice is about legibility: text should not obstruct the picture, and should use a clean font at a large enough size in a contrasting colour. For 9:16 ads, Meta's Safe Zone page says to keep text away from the edges, and the Ads Guide recommends not adding text to images for the right column and Facebook Reels because they display small.

Multiple text options and what Advantage+ creative may do to your text

Three features can put words in your ad other than the single version you typed.

Text options. The text best practices page says you can enter several options for primary text, headline and description on a single image or video ad, and Meta's system delivers variations to different people. It suggests this when you have several versions and are unsure which works.
Text generation. Formerly called text variations. Meta's page on the feature says it can generate up to five variations of primary text and of headline from your originals, and that reporting is for the ad as a whole, not per variation. The setup page says the primary text needs at least five words, that you tick the suggestions you want, and that the feature can be turned off.
Text improvements. An Advantage+ creative enhancement that takes words and phrases from your copy and shows them, as written or adjusted, on or around the creative. Meta's setup page says it is on by default.

Meta's own example of using placement asset customisation is shorter copy for Stories than for feed. Our post on Advantage+ creative enhancements lists every enhancement and how to switch each one off.

Meta's own advice on writing ad text

Keep it short. The text best practices page says primary text should span one to three lines at most; Meta for Business's tailored campaigns page says two to three. Its page on engaging ads gives the reason: people scan quickly.
Say what you want people to do. Both pages call this the most important job of the text, and point to the call-to-action button as part of it.
Make the combinations agree. The text generation page says your primary text, headline and description options should work together and not contradict each other.
Vary one idea at a time. That page's examples of useful options add a price, a figure, a customer quote or a question to the same message.
Fill the fields in. The text best practices page says that if you leave text blank, Meta may pull it from your destination URL, and you may not be able to edit it.
Test. Meta says testing is the best way to find what works for your audience. See how to test ad creative.

Sources

All pages are undated and were read on 13 October 2026.

Questions people ask

What is the Facebook ad headline character limit?

Meta's Ads Guide recommends a headline of 27 characters in Facebook Feed and 40 characters in most other placements, such as Instagram feed, Facebook Stories and Marketplace. These are recommended lengths, not hard maximums: Meta says longer text may be truncated. Carousel cards in Facebook Feed have a shorter recommendation of 20 characters.

What is the Facebook ad character limit for primary text?

There is no single limit. Meta's Ads Guide recommends 50 to 150 characters of primary text in Facebook Feed, 125 in Instagram feed and Stories, 40 in Facebook Reels and 44 in Instagram Reels. Meta's Help Centre says text beyond the recommended length may be truncated, depending on the placement and device.

What is the difference between headline, description and primary text in a Facebook ad?

Primary text is the main message of the ad. The headline is the short line in the ad's footer beside the call-to-action button, and the description is an extra line with the headline. Meta says the description should hold only non-essential information, because it does not always show.

Does Meta still limit text in ad images to 20 percent?

Meta's best practices page for image ads says there is no longer a limit on the amount of text in an ad image. Its remaining advice is that text should not obstruct the picture, should be large and contrasting, and should stay inside the Safe Zone on 9:16 ads.

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