Hashtags in 2026: How Many to Use and How to Choose Them

Hashtags still help, but their job has changed. They're no longer a way to stack as many words as possible; they tell the platform and the reader exactly what your post is about.

How many in 2026?

• Instagram: since December 2025, Instagram allows at most five hashtags on a post or reel, down from thirty. Choose those five carefully.
• TikTok: three to five hashtags close to the topic are enough. TikTok also reads the words in your caption and the text on the video.
• X: one or two, mostly for events and trending topics.

Four kinds to choose from

1. Topic: describes exactly what's in the post, such as #specialtycoffee or #homeworkout.
2. Place: important for shops and local services, such as #Riyadh, #Jeddah or #Khobar.
3. Community or niche: brings together people in your field, such as #SaudiPhotographers.
4. Your brand: your own tag for your posts and campaigns, so people can find them and share their own.

A good Instagram mix: two topic tags, one place, one niche and one brand tag.

Mistakes to avoid

• Very broad tags like #love or #explore: huge competition, and they don't describe your post.
• Unrelated tags used just because they're popular: they do more harm than good.
• The same set on every post: change your tags with each post's topic.
• Very long or misspelled tags: nobody searches for them.

How do you know your hashtags work?

Try two different sets on similar posts for two weeks, then compare reach and views from people who don't follow you in your insights. Keep the better set and keep testing every month.

Hashtags for your next post

In AI Studio, enter your post's topic, your city and the platform to get hashtags for the topic, the place and your niche, in Arabic and English, and pick the ones that fit.