SMS Segment Calculator
See exactly how many segments your message uses, and how credit-based providers turn one text into multiple charges.
What This Message Actually Costs
How Segments Work
Carriers split long messages into smaller pieces called "segments." Each segment is sent and billed separately. Credit-based SMS providers pass this cost to you as multiplied charges.
| Encoding | 1 Segment | Multi-Segment |
|---|---|---|
| GSM-7 (standard text) | 160 chars | 153 chars |
| Unicode (emojis, etc.) | 70 chars | 67 chars |
Why Unicode Matters
A single emoji, accented character, or non-Latin letter forces the entire message into Unicode encoding. This cuts your per-segment capacity by more than half.
Extended GSM characters (^, {, }, [, ], \, |, ~, €) also count as 2 characters each in GSM-7 mode.
The Credit Trap
With credit-based providers like SMS Magic, a simple 80-character message with one emoji becomes a 2-segment message, burning 2–3 credits instead of 1. Over thousands of messages, this adds up fast.
The Banjaxed Difference
With Conversations for Salesforce, a text is a text. We bill per message sent, not per segment. No encoding math. No credit multipliers. Your monthly cost is predictable down to the penny.