Threads rules: API posting limits
Last verified September 23, 2026 · re-checked weekly · 3 rules
Threads publishes every API limit that matters to a scheduler, per profile and on a rolling 24-hour window: 250 posts, 1,000 replies, 100 deletions. It also exposes an endpoint, threads_publishing_limit, that reports how much of each quota is left.
Each action has its own quota, so a bulk cleanup that deletes old posts hits its ceiling long before posting does. Format limits are published too: 500 characters per text post, and 2 to 20 items per carousel. Every figure below links to Meta's Threads documentation and is re-checked every week.
500 characters per post, 2 to 20 items per carousel
API limitsMeta lists the format limits alongside the quotas: "Text posts are limited to 500 characters", and carousel posts "must have a maximum of 20 children and a minimum of 2 children". A carousel of one item is rejected, not published as a single post.
What to do: Validate length and carousel size before calling the API. Truncating to 500 characters after a failed call loses the post; checking first does not.
API cap: 250 posts per profile per 24h
API limitsMeta states that "Threads profiles are limited to 250 API-published posts within a 24-hour moving period". The window is rolling, not a calendar day. Remaining headroom is readable from the threads_publishing_limit endpoint, whose documented response reports quota_total 250 and quota_duration 86400 seconds.
What to do: Cap automated Threads publishing below 250 posts per profile per rolling 24 hours, and poll threads_publishing_limit before a batch rather than discovering the ceiling through failed calls.
Replies and deletions have their own, separate quotas
API limitsPosting is not the only metered action. The same page states that "Threads profiles are limited to 1,000 replies within a 24-hour moving period" and "limited to 100 deletions within a 24-hour moving period", plus 500 location searches. Each is counted separately from the 250-post cap, and the threads_publishing_limit endpoint reports each quota when asked for its fields.
What to do: Budget replies and deletions separately from posts. A cleanup script that deletes old posts in bulk will hit 100 deletions long before anything else - spread it across days.
Common questions
How many posts can the Threads API publish per day?
250 per profile within a rolling 24-hour window, per Meta's Threads documentation. Replies are counted separately, with their own quota of 1,000 per 24 hours.
How do I check my remaining Threads quota?
Call GET /{threads-user-id}/threads_publishing_limit. It returns quota_usage alongside the configured quota_total and quota_duration, and can report the reply, delete and location-search quotas as well. Poll it before a batch instead of counting calls yourself.
What is the Threads character limit?
Text posts are limited to 500 characters. Carousels take between 2 and 20 images or videos; a one-item carousel is rejected rather than published as a single post.
Keep reading
When did these rules change? See the dated policy timeline →
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