SMS Character Counter
Check your text message length, encoding type, and see how many SMS segments it will use.
Quick Templates
Characters
0
160 remaining in segment
SMS Segments
0
160 chars per segment
Encoding
Max 160 chars/SMS
Est. Cost
$0.0000
~$0.0075/segment (industry avg)
SMS Character Limits
| Encoding | Single SMS | Multi-part (per segment) | Used For |
|---|---|---|---|
| GSM-7 | 160 characters | 153 characters | Standard Latin text, numbers, basic punctuation |
| Unicode (UCS-2) | 70 characters | 67 characters | Emojis, Chinese, Arabic, special symbols |
GSM-7 Character Set
Basic Characters (1 char each)
Standard letters (A-Z, a-z), numbers (0-9), and these symbols:
Extended Characters (2 chars each)
These characters use an escape sequence and count as 2:
Tips to Optimize Your SMS
Avoid Emojis in Bulk SMS
A single emoji forces Unicode encoding, reducing your limit from 160 to 70 characters.
Watch for Smart Quotes
Curly quotes (“ ”) copied from Word or email force Unicode. Use straight quotes (" ") instead.
Use URL Shorteners
Long URLs eat up characters. Use bit.ly or similar services to shorten links.
Stay Under 160
Multi-part SMS costs more and may arrive out of order. Keep messages concise.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the SMS character limit?
A single SMS can contain 160 characters using GSM-7 encoding (standard Latin text). If your message contains emojis, Chinese characters, Arabic, or other special symbols, it switches to Unicode encoding which limits each SMS to 70 characters.
Why does my message split into multiple SMS?
When your message exceeds 160 characters (GSM-7) or 70 characters (Unicode), it's split into multiple segments. Each segment reserves some characters for a concatenation header that helps reassemble the message on the recipient's phone, reducing usable space to 153 or 67 characters per segment.
What characters force Unicode encoding?
Emojis, Chinese/Japanese/Korean characters, Arabic, Hebrew, Cyrillic, and many special symbols force Unicode. Common culprits include curly quotes, em-dashes, and trademark symbols. Our tool highlights these characters so you can replace them.
Do extended GSM characters cost extra?
Extended characters (^ { } \ [ ~ ] | €) don't force Unicode, but they count as 2 characters each because they require an escape sequence. This can affect your character count but won't reduce your per-SMS limit to 70.
How are multi-part SMS billed?
Most carriers and SMS providers bill per segment. A 161-character GSM message would be split into 2 segments and billed as 2 SMS. This is why staying under 160 characters is cost-effective for bulk messaging.