How to Write TikTok and Reels Captions and Hashtags

A good short-video caption opens with a hook of under 8 words, says your main keyword early, adds one or two lines of value, ends with a clear call to action, and uses a few relevant hashtags: 3–5 niche and keyword tags plus one broad tag. Paste your script into the free Caption & Hashtag Generator and it writes titles, captions and hashtags for TikTok, Reels and Shorts in seconds.

What makes a caption work?

Only the first line or two shows before "more", so structure every caption the same way:

1. Hook (first line): the reason to keep watching. "Stop wasting your protein shake."
2. Keyword early: what the video is about, in the words people search. "3 high-protein breakfasts under 10 minutes."
3. Value: one or two short lines from the video.
4. Call to action: "Save this for later", "Follow for part 2", "Comment GYM and I'll send the plan."
5. Hashtags: a few, relevant, at the end.

Hook templates that work

Type	Template	Example
List	"[Number] [things] you [benefit]"	"5 budget meals that keep you full"
How-to	"How to [result] in [time]"	"How to edit Reels in 2 minutes"
Mistake	"Stop [common mistake]"	"Stop storing bread in the fridge"
POV	"POV: you finally [result]"	"POV: you finally learned to save money"
Question	"Why does nobody talk about [topic]?"	"Why does nobody talk about posture?"
Before/after	"[Before] → [after] in [time]"	"Messy desk → clean setup in 1 hour"

Keep the hook under about 8 words, and say it out loud in the first second of the video too.

How many hashtags should you use?

Fewer, more relevant hashtags work better than a wall of tags:

Platform	Suggested hashtags	Notes
TikTok	3–6	Mix niche tags with one broad tag such as #fyp
Instagram Reels	3–5	Instagram has advised a small number of relevant tags
YouTube Shorts	3	Hashtags in the description can show above your title

Use a mix:

• Niche tags for your topic and audience: #mealprep, #homeworkout.
• Keyword tags from the video itself: #proteinbreakfast.
• One broad tag for the platform: #fyp, #reels or #shorts.

Avoid banned or irrelevant tags, and don't use the same 30 tags on every post.

How do you use the Caption & Hashtag Generator?

1. Open the Caption & Hashtag Generator.
2. Paste your video script, or describe the video in a few sentences. Try an example shows how it works.
3. Choose the Platform (TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts or all three) and the Tone (fun, educational, inspiring, professional or storytelling).
4. Leave the niche on Detect from my script, or pick one (fitness, food, travel, tech, business and more). Optionally add a location or brand keyword.
5. Pick from 8 titles and hooks, read the caption for each platform, and turn individual hashtags on or off.
6. Use Copy on any item, or Copy caption + hashtags. Shuffle gives new variations.

Character counters warn you if a caption or title is over the platform's limit. It runs in your browser, so your script isn't sent anywhere.

Example: a fitness video

Script: "Five easy high protein breakfast ideas for muscle gain. Greek yogurt bowls, egg wraps and protein oats in under ten minutes."

• Hook: "5 high-protein breakfasts in 10 minutes"
• Caption: "5 high-protein breakfasts in 10 minutes 🍳 Greek yogurt bowls, egg wraps and protein oats, all under 10 minutes. Save this for your next meal prep."
• Hashtags: #highprotein #breakfastideas #mealprep #musclegain #fyp

Why keywords matter more than ever

TikTok, Instagram and YouTube are used as search engines. People type "easy protein breakfast" or "how to edit reels". Say your main keyword in the first line of the caption, in the title, in on-screen text and out loud in the video, so the app understands what it's about and shows it in search, not only in feeds.

Check the limits

Platform	Caption or title limit
TikTok	4,000 characters
Instagram	2,200 characters, up to 30 hashtags
YouTube Shorts	Title 100 characters, description 5,000

Use the Word Counter to check long captions, and Remove Duplicate Lines to dedupe a hashtag list; see how to remove duplicate lines from a list.

Prepare the video too

Captions work best with a strong first frame. Make a clean cover with the YouTube Thumbnail Resizer or Resize for Instagram. Then write your caption with the free Caption & Hashtag Generator.