Costs are calculated at FaithDash's rate of UGX 35 per SMS part. Merge fields such as {{name}} are replaced before sending, so leave room for the longest name on your list. Note that { and } each count as two characters while they're in the text.
How SMS length is counted
| Encoding | One part | Each part when split | Triggered by |
|---|---|---|---|
| GSM-7 | 160 characters | 153 characters | Plain letters, digits and common punctuation |
| GSM-7 (extended) | 160 characters | 153 characters | Also contains ^ { } [ ] ~ | € or a backslash, each of which counts as 2 |
| Unicode (UCS-2) | 70 characters | 67 characters | Any character outside the GSM-7 set: curly quotes, em dashes, most emoji, many accented letters |
When a message is longer than one part, each part gives up a few characters to a hidden header that tells the phone how to stitch the parts back together. That's why 2 parts hold 306 GSM-7 characters, not 320.
The characters that quietly double your cost
These characters are the usual cause of an unexpected Unicode message. Most arrive by copy-paste from Word, WhatsApp or a phone keyboard's "smart punctuation".
| Character | Looks like | Safe replacement |
|---|---|---|
| Curly apostrophe | ’ | ' |
| Curly quotes | “ ” | " |
| En dash and em dash | – — | - |
| Ellipsis | … | ... |
| Emoji | 🙏 🎉 ❤️ | Leave it out, or accept the Unicode cost |
| Accented letters outside GSM-7 | á í ó ú ê | a i o u e |
Some accented letters are part of GSM-7 and are safe, including é, è, à, ù, ì, ò, ä, ö, ü and ñ.
The calculator above lists the exact characters that pushed your message into Unicode, and can swap the curly quotes, dashes and ellipses for plain ones. FaithDash's message composer does the same check while you type.
Frequently asked questions
How many characters are in one SMS?
160 characters with standard GSM-7 encoding, or 70 if the message contains any Unicode character such as an emoji or a curly quote. Longer messages are split into parts of 153 (GSM-7) or 67 (Unicode) characters each.
Why does my SMS count as 2 messages?
It's either longer than 160 characters, or it contains a Unicode character that cuts the limit to 70. A single emoji or curly apostrophe is enough to turn a 100-character message into 2 parts.
How much does it cost to send an SMS to 500 people in Uganda?
With FaithDash, a one-part message costs UGX 35 per recipient, so 500 recipients cost UGX 17,500. A two-part message costs UGX 35,000.
Do spaces and line breaks count as characters?
Yes. Every space and every line break counts as one character in GSM-7.
Does an emoji count as one character?
No. In Unicode encoding most emoji count as two characters, and they switch the whole message to Unicode, so the limit for one part drops from 160 to 70.