Hashtags are no longer a way to stack as many words as possible under a post. They tell the platform, and the people searching, exactly what your post is about. The closer they are to your topic, your city and your niche, the clearer your post is to both.
How many hashtags on each platform?
- Instagram: since December 2025, Instagram allows at most 5 hashtags on a post or reel, so choosing the five matters more than ever.
- TikTok: five tags close to the video’s topic are plenty. Let the caption describe the video in plain words too.
- X: one or two, usually for a trending topic or an event.
- Snapchat: three close to the topic.
Build your set from three kinds of tags
1. Topic
Says exactly what is in the post: #specialtycoffee, #winterabaya, #oudperfume or #smashburger. This kind matters most, so give it two of your five.
2. Place
Important for shops and services that serve one city. Looking for Instagram hashtags for Saudi Arabia? Start with the city: #riyadh, #jeddah or #dammam, or the city with your niche, like #riyadhfood or #jeddahcafe. A tag like #saudiarabia on its own is very broad, while a city tag tells people where to find you.
3. Niche or community
Brings together people who care about your field: #perfumetok for fragrance fans on TikTok, #modestfashion for abaya shoppers, #homebakery for home kitchens. If you have your own brand tag, add it yourself in place of one of your five.
A simple Instagram mix: two topic tags, one place tag, one niche tag, and one in Arabic if your customers search in Arabic too.
Arabic or English hashtags?
Use the language your customers search in. If they search in both, mix them: #abaya next to #عبايات, or #riyadhfood next to #مطاعم_الرياض. The Arabic version of this page writes in Gulf Arabic and suggests Arabic hashtags, with English ones where people search in both.
Mistakes to avoid
- Very broad tags like #explore sit on a huge number of posts and don’t describe yours.
- Popular tags unrelated to the post, used only because they’re trending today.
- The same set on every post: change it with each post’s topic.
- Long or misspelled tags that nobody types into search.
How the hashtag generator orders them
Describe your post and pick a platform, and you get 15 hashtags, best first. The set to post is marked: 5 for Instagram and TikTok, 2 for X and 3 for Snapchat, with one button to copy the marked set and another to copy all. The rest are alternatives to swap in from one post to the next, and if the set doesn’t suit you, press “Write others”. Pick TikTok and it works as a TikTok hashtag generator, with the 5 to post on top. You also get 3 ready captions; to focus on the words, open the AI caption generator.
Before you post: check your five in thirty seconds
- Open each tag in search and look at the posts under it: do they look like yours?
- Make sure at least one has your city, if your shop serves one area.
- Drop any tag you’ve repeated on your last three posts without a good reason.
- Write tags the way people type them, with an underscore or no space at all, never a space in the middle.
Test and rotate
Try two different sets on similar posts for two weeks and compare the reach in your account’s insights. Keep the better set, and test again every month. For more, read Hashtags in 2026: how many to use and how to choose them, and to pick your posting times, The best time to post in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.