SMS character counter

How many characters fit in a text message?

A text message holds 160 characters when it only uses the GSM-7 alphabet, the standard SMS character set defined in 3GPP TS 23.038. If a single character falls outside that alphabet, the whole message switches to Unicode (UCS-2) and the limit drops to 70 characters.

Past that limit, the message is split into segments that the recipient’s phone stitches back together. Each segment gives up a few characters to the header that makes the reassembly possible: 153 characters per segment in GSM-7, 67 in Unicode. And each segment is billed as one text.

In practice, a 144-character message fits in one segment. The same message with one curly apostrophe (’), the kind your phone or word processor inserts on its own, costs three.

How many characters fit in 2, 3 or 4 segments?

Each extra segment adds 153 characters in GSM-7 and 67 in Unicode. The limits worth knowing for a sales text:

A double-width character (€, brackets, emoji) that lands right at the end of a segment moves whole to the next one, so the real limit can drop by one.

Characters that switch a text to Unicode

Phone keyboards and word processors quietly swap plain characters for typographic ones. These are the usual suspects:

About ç: the standard draws an uppercase Ç at that position, the Unicode mapping table maps it to lowercase ç, and platforms do not all make the same choice. The counter uses the cautious assumption, which is Twilio’s: only uppercase Ç is GSM-7.

3GPP TS 23.038, Alphabets and language-specific information · Unicode, GSM 03.38 mapping table · Twilio, what the SMS character limit is

How the counter works

1. 1

   It picks the encoding

   Every character is looked up in the GSM-7 basic table (127 characters) and its extension table (10 characters). One character missing from both, and the whole message is counted as Unicode.

2. 2

   It counts units, not letters

   In GSM-7, an extension character (€, brackets, braces) counts as 2. In Unicode, an emoji counts as 2 units, sometimes more for composed emojis (families, flags, skin tones).

3. 3

   It splits like a carrier

   Up to 160 (or 70) units, one segment. Beyond that, chunks of 153 (or 67). A double-width character is never cut in half: it moves whole to the next segment, as messaging platforms do.

4. 4

   It estimates merge fields

   In a template, {first_name} or [Company] is counted at the planned length you set. The longest value in your list decides the segment count.

5. 5

   It never rewrites without you

   The replace button offers the GSM equivalent of each character and can be undone. Emojis have no equivalent: you decide whether to keep them.

What a sales text has to include

The counter checks what can be seen in the text and in your settings. Rules checked November 6, 2026. Information, not legal advice.

Common mistakes

• Writing in Word or Notes, then pasting

  The text arrives with curly quotes, em dashes and non-breaking spaces. It still reads fine, but it costs two or three times more. Paste it here before you save it as a template.

• Adding an emoji "for warmth"

  A single 👋 turns a 101-character message from 1 segment into 2. On a 2,000-recipient send, that is 2,000 extra segments.

• Counting the template instead of the sent text

  "Hi {first_name}" is 15 characters; "Hi Christopher-James" is 20. Set each merge field to the longest value in your list.

• Skipping STOP because "it’s B2B"

  There is no B2B exception for texts to cell phones under the TCPA, and carriers expect opt-out language. A recipient with no way out reports the number, the same number you call from.

• Sending on your own clock

  The 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. rule runs in the recipient’s time zone. A 9 a.m. send from New York lands at 6 a.m. in California.

Keep going

The full rules, ready-to-adapt templates and related tools.

• A2P 10DLC and cold texting rules Brand and campaign registration, fees, review delays, and the TCPA rules for sales texts.
• SMS after call templates 14 texts sorted by situation, ready to run through this counter.
• TCPA rule changes, November 2026 Opt-out keywords, revocation methods and the ten-business-day deadline.
• Cold calling compliance checker The same check for calls: legal hours, holidays, consent and do-not-call lists by country.
• Sales cadence generator Where the text belongs between calls and emails, day by day.
• When to call your prospects The best time slots to call, so your follow-up text lands right after.
• Cold calling cell phones in B2B Why the line between business and personal numbers is thinner than it looks.
• Skipcall SMS messaging Calls and texts from the same number, replies shared by the team.