SMS Character Counter

A single SMS can contain 160 characters using GSM-7 encoding (standard English alphabet and basic punctuation). If your message contains special characters like emojis, it switches to Unicode encoding with a 70 character limit per SMS.

When your message exceeds one SMS, it becomes a multi-part (concatenated) SMS. Each segment contains 153 characters (GSM-7) or 67 characters (Unicode) because some space is reserved for the concatenation header that links the segments together.

GSM-7 is the standard SMS encoding supporting basic Latin characters, numbers, and common punctuation (160 chars per SMS). Unicode is used when your message contains special characters like emojis, accented letters, or non-Latin scripts (70 chars per SMS). Unicode SMS costs more as it requires more segments.

Your SMS splits into multiple messages when it exceeds the character limit (160 for GSM-7 or 70 for Unicode). Each additional segment holds 153 characters (GSM-7) or 67 characters (Unicode). The recipient typically receives these as one continuous message.

To reduce SMS segments: 1) Remove emojis and special characters to use GSM-7 encoding, 2) Abbreviate words where possible, 3) Remove unnecessary spaces and punctuation, 4) Use URL shorteners for links, 5) Consider splitting into multiple separate messages instead of one long concatenated message.