Guide
How to add a link to a tweet without losing characters
Here is how to add a link to X posts in Dripost without wasting characters. On X a link’s length doesn’t matter. Any address, long or short, costs the same 23 characters, which changes how you write around it.
Who this is for
Anyone sharing articles, launches, videos or sign-up pages on X, and anyone who has shortened links by hand to save characters.
1. Paste the full address
Every link on X counts as 23 characters whatever its real length, because X rewrites it. A 90-character address costs the same as a 20-character one, so there’s no need for a link shortener to save space.
2. Count it the way X does
The X tab in Dripost applies that rule as you type, so what you see left is what X will allow. That leaves 256 characters for words with one link and a space.
3. Put the reason first
Lead with why the link is worth opening, then the address at the end. A post that is only a link gives people nothing to react to.
4. Two links? Budget for both
Each extra link is another 23. Two links and a sentence fit, but three start to crowd out the words.
5. Posting a YouTube video to X
Dripost posts text to X: one post of up to 280 characters, with no photos, video or threads. To share a video, post it to YouTube first, then put its link in an X post; Dripost shows the video’s link once YouTube has processed it.
6. Schedule it
Pick a time or Add to queue. X answers straight away, and Dripost shows the post’s link so you can check how the link looks.
The same link elsewhere
Tick LinkedIn or Threads in the same post: they count a link as the characters you typed, and Threads allows up to 5 links in each post.
Links and mentions together
An @mention counts as its letters, while the link stays at 23. A post that tags a partner and links their page still has room for a full sentence, which the X tab counts for you as you type.
Plan availability
Links in X posts are on every plan.
Questions
How many characters does a link use on X?
23, whatever the address’s real length.
Should I shorten links for X?
Not to save space: X counts every link as 23 anyway.
Does Dripost shorten or track links?
No. Links go out as you wrote them.