The maximum number of friends a standard Facebook user can have is 5,000. This is a limit on mutual friend connections, meaning people who have accepted one another as friends; it is not a limit on the number of people who can follow a profile’s public posts.
Facebook introduced the cap to keep personal profiles focused on real social connections and to distinguish ordinary profiles from public-facing Pages. Once a profile reaches 5,000 friends, the user generally must remove an existing friend before accepting or sending another friend request. People can still follow public updates when following is enabled.
The limit is often confused with follower counts or professional-mode accounts. Professional mode does not remove the 5,000-friend ceiling, but it can allow a profile to have more than 5,000 followers. Facebook Pages, meanwhile, are designed for businesses, creators, organizations, and public figures and can attract unlimited followers. Thus, 5,000 refers specifically to friends on a personal profile, not to a user’s total audience on Facebook.