SMS character limit comparison: GSM-7 encoding fits 160 characters per message while Unicode (UCS-2) fits only 70, shown as two phones side by side.

SMS Length & Unicode: Character Limits Explained (2026)

SMS Marketing /

A single SMS holds 160 characters with standard GSM-7 encoding, or 70 characters when it contains Unicode (UCS-2). Anything longer splits into concatenated segments of 153 or 67 characters each — and each segment bills separately. That one rule explains most surprises in SMS sending: why your message length suddenly drops, why one emoji turns […]

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