The maximum number of friends you can have on a personal Facebook account is 5000. However, Facebook offers “Professional Mode” for public figures, businesses and brands which allows up to 50,000 followers.
What is the friend limit on personal Facebook accounts?
For regular personal Facebook accounts, there is a limit of 5000 friends. This limit has been in place since Facebook launched in 2004. The intention behind the 5000 friend limit is to keep Facebook focused on real social connections between friends and family, rather than just accumulating as many connections as possible.
Once you reach the 5000 friend limit, you will not be able to send new friend requests. If you try to add new friends, you will see a notification saying “Sorry, you can’t add any more friends.” Your current friends list will remain intact, but you will need to delete existing friends in order to add new ones.
Why does Facebook limit personal accounts to 5000 friends?
There are a few reasons why Facebook instituted a 5000 friend limit for personal accounts:
- To maintain the intention of Facebook being for real social connections. The 5000 limit prevents people from endlessly accumulating “friends” they don’t actually know.
- To ensure the news feed remains relevant. With 5000+ friends, your news feed would become extremely cluttered.
- To control server load and storage. More friends means more data to store and manage.
- For privacy reasons. Most people don’t want their posts and info shared with thousands of loose acquaintances.
So in summary, the limit is there to uphold Facebook’s original vision as a place to connect with real friends and family. It prevents abuse of the friending system and keeps the experience focused for most users.
What is Facebook Professional Mode?
Facebook Professional Mode allows public figures, businesses, brands and organizations to have up to 50,000 followers on their Facebook Page.
With Professional Mode enabled, a Facebook Page functions similarly to a personal profile. The key differences are:
- Up to 50,000 followers allowed
- Ability to cross-post as the Page or your personal account
- See notifications from both Page and personal account in one place
- Enhanced analytics and insights
Professional Mode is intended for public figures, publishers, brands and other organizations who need to reach a large audience on Facebook. Whereas regular users are limited to 5000 friends, Professional Mode gives eligible Pages a much higher limit of 50,000 followers.
Who is eligible for Facebook Professional Mode?
To be eligible for Professional Mode, your Facebook Page must represent a:
- Public figure
- Content creator or publisher
- Company, brand or organization
- Government agency or political figure
And it must meet these requirements:
- Have at least 10,000 followers
- Be active and frequently posting content
- Be free of any restrictions or violations
If your Page meets these criteria, you can request Professional Mode in the Settings section of your Facebook Page. Facebook will review your request and enable Professional Mode if approved.
What are the benefits of Facebook Professional Mode?
Here are some of the key benefits of upgrading to Professional Mode:
- Reach a larger audience – Grow your follower count up to 50,000 instead of being limited to 5000.
- Unified experience – Manage your personal profile and Page from one place.
- Cross-posting – Easily share content between your personal timeline and Page.
- Insights – Gain access to more analytics and data on your Page’s performance.
- Monetization – More followers and capabilities make it easier to monetize your Page through ads, sponsorships, etc.
For public figures, content creators, brands and organizations, Professional Mode provides a critical set of tools for expanding reach and engaging followers on Facebook.
Can businesses have more than 5000 likes without Professional Mode?
No. The 5000 friend/follower limit applies to both personal profiles and business Pages on Facebook.
Without Professional Mode enabled, normal business Pages are capped at 5000 page likes. This is the same limit that applies to personal accounts.
Trying to exceed 5000 likes on a normal business Page will result in the same notification about not being able to add more friends. To surpass 5000, Professional Mode must be activated.
What happens if you delete friends to make room for new ones?
If you are at the 5000 friend limit, you can delete existing friends in order to add new ones. However, this is generally not recommended for a few reasons:
- It can hurt feelings if you delete people just to add others.
- It takes time and effort to comb through and prune your friends list.
- Deleted friends may attempt to re-add you in the future.
- Your total number of friends won’t actually grow beyond 5000.
That said, deleting inactive friends or acquaintances you’ve lost touch with can provide some room for new, active connections. Just be thoughtful about who you remove before sending new requests.
Can I get more than 5000 friends if I pay for ads?
No, running ads on Facebook does not allow you to exceed the 5000 friend limit on personal accounts. The friend limit applies equally to all users regardless of whether they pay for ads.
The only way to get over 5000 friends is to convert your personal account to a Professional Mode Page. Ads do not override the built-in friend limit.
Conclusion
The 5000 friend limit has been a defining feature of Facebook since its earliest days. While some users want the freedom of endless connections, the limit preserves Facebook’s intention as a network for real social relationships.
Public figures, businesses and organizations that need more reach can access Professional Mode. But regular users will find that maintaining real connections with 5000 or fewer friends leads to a better experience overall.