SMS Character Counter & GSM Calculator
Check whether your message is GSM-7 or Unicode, how many characters it uses and how many SMS credits it will take, before you send.
- GSM-7 and Unicode
- Extended characters counted
- Credit and cost estimate
SMS length limits at a glance
| Encoding | Used for | 1 SMS | Each part of a long SMS |
|---|---|---|---|
| GSM-7 | English letters, numbers, common symbols | 160 characters | 153 characters |
| Unicode (UCS-2) | Hindi and other Indian scripts, emoji, curly quotes | 70 characters | 67 characters |
^{}\[]~|€Short OTP and alert templates go out faster and cost one credit.
For DLT templates, count each variable at its longest expected value.
Curly quotes and long dashes from Word turn a 160-character SMS into 70.
WhatsApp and RCS have no 160-character parts. See WhatsApp
Frequently asked questions
How many characters are in one SMS?
One SMS holds 160 characters when it uses only the standard GSM-7 character set (English letters, numbers and common symbols). If any character is outside that set, such as Hindi text, an emoji or a curly quote, the whole message is sent as Unicode and one SMS holds 70 characters.
Why does a long SMS hold only 153 characters per part?
When a message is longer than one SMS, it is split into parts and each part carries a small header so the phone can join them back together. That header uses 7 characters in GSM-7 (153 left per part) and 3 characters in Unicode (67 left per part).
Which characters count as two?
In GSM-7, these characters take two spaces each: ^ { } \ [ ] ~ | and €. They are part of the GSM extension table. Our counter includes them automatically.
Why did my English message switch to Unicode?
Usually because of a character copied from Word, WhatsApp or a website, such as curly quotes (‘ ’ “ ”), a long dash (–) or an emoji. Click “Make GSM-friendly” to replace them with plain characters and bring the message back to GSM-7.
How are SMS credits counted?
Each SMS part is one credit per recipient. A 2-part message sent to 1,000 numbers uses 2,000 credits. Enter the number of recipients and your rate to estimate the total.
Does this apply to WhatsApp and RCS?
No. SMS parts only apply to SMS. WhatsApp and RCS messages are not split into 160-character parts, so long messages in any language are sent as one message.
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