What is a Text Message Segment?

Adam H.

July 22, 2021 14:02

What is a messaging segment?

All phone carriers internationally measure text messages in character batches called segments. You are billed for each segment sent and received. Segments are typically 160 characters in length, assuming standard encoding, but if certain characters are used, your message will be encoded as Unicode, which reduces your segment length 70 characters per segment.

How length influences your messaging cost*:

0 – 160 characters – 1 segment and charged as a single message
161 – 306 characters – 2 segments and charged as two messages
307 – 459 characters – 3 segments and charged as three messages
460 – 612 characters – 4 segments and charged as four messages
613 – 765 characters – 5 segments and charged as five messages
766 – 918 characters – 6 segments and charged as six messages
919 – 1,071 characters – 7 segments and charged as seven messages
1,072 – 1,224 characters – 8 segments and charged as eight messages
1,225 – 1,377 characters – 9 segments and charged as nine messages
1,378 – 1,530 characters – 10 segments and charged as ten messages

*Assuming GSM-7 encoding

What will it cost to send my message?

Your cost per message will be based on three things:

Length - Your message length, measured in segments.
Your Plan - Each pricing plan with Sakari has a different per message segment rate.
Destination Country - The destination country of your contact will have an associated per message segment rate based on your messaging plan.

What are common Unicode characters?

These are commonly-used characters that will change your message encoding type from GSM-7 to Unicode, which will lower your segment character count from 160 to 70 characters per segment.

Emojis (Partial List)

😀 😁 😂 🤣 😃 😄 😅 😆 😉 😊 😋 😎 😍 😘 🥰 😗 😙 😚 ☺️ 🙂 🤗 🤩 🤔 🤨 😐 😑 😶 🙄 😏 😣 😥 😮 🤐 😯 😪 😫 😴 😌 😛 😜 😝 🤤 😒 😓 😔 😕 🙃 🤑 😲 ☹️ 🙁 😖 😞 😟 😤 😢 😭 😦 😧 😨 😩 🤯 😬 😰 😱 🥵 🥶 😳 🤪 😵 😡 😠 🤬 😷 🤒 🤕 🤢 🤮 🤧 😇 🤠 🤡 🥳 🥴 🥺 🤥 🤫 🤭 🧐 🤓 😈 👿 👹 👺 💀 👻 👽 🤖 💩 😺 😸 😹 😻 😼 😽 🙀 😿 😾

Non-Emoji Unicode Characters (Partial List)

¢ ¦ ¨ © ª « ¬ ® ¯ ° ± ¹ ² ³ ´ µ ¶ · ¸ ¹ º » ¼ ½ ¾ À Á Â Ã È Ê Ë Ì Í Î Ï Ð Ò Ó Ô Õ × Ù Ú Û Ý Þ á â ã ç ê ë í î ï ð ó ô õ ÷ ú û ý þ ÿ

How do I calculate my message length?

Segments are generally 160 characters in length, so if your message is 161 characters, it is two segments.

PRO TIP: Use the Sakari SMS length calculator to measure your messages length and segment count.

Do you support sending emoji characters?

Yes! 😀 We support sending emojis. 🎉. Please note that when using emojis your message will convert to a Unicode encoding type.

Is there a character limit?

Text messages are generally limited to 10 segments, which generally is 1,600 characters (160 x 10).