An SMS can hold a limited number of characters. This article explains the limits, how extended encoding affects them, and how to see how many SMS a message uses.
Watch our video on this topic (go to timestamp 20:30):
Character limits
By default, SMS use the GSM alphabet. One SMS can hold up to 160 characters. A longer message is split into parts of up to 153 characters each, which most phones join together into one message. You pay for each part.
Some characters aren't in the GSM alphabet, for example emojis and the euro sign (€). They don't display correctly unless you turn on Extended encoding. With extended encoding, one SMS can hold only 70 characters, and a longer message is split into parts of up to 67 characters.
- Standard (GSM): 160 characters in one SMS, and 153 characters in each part of a longer message.
- Extended encoding: 70 characters in one SMS, and 67 characters in each part of a longer message.
A line break counts as two characters.
Turn on extended encoding
In the SMS editor, turn on Extended encoding at the top of the page. The counter under the message in the preview shows the number of characters and the number of SMS.
For example, a message of 97 characters without special characters fits in one SMS. If you replace "SEK" with "€" and turn on extended encoding, the message has only 95 characters but needs two SMS, because it's longer than 70.
Only turn on extended encoding when you need the special characters. If you can, rephrase the text instead, for example "EUR" instead of "€".
Placeholders change the length
The counter counts placeholders as you type them. For example, {{contact.firstName}} counts as 20 characters, but the value can be "Bo" or "Christopher Robin". Placeholders and short links can therefore make the message longer for some contacts, so they receive more SMS than the counter shows. Leave some margin if you use them.