A segment is the unit in which an SMS is transmitted and billed. A short message fits in one segment; longer messages are split and each part is billed separately. Segment size depends on the alphabet: 160 characters in GSM-7 or 70 in Unicode (UCS-2).
A segment is the unit in which an SMS is transmitted and billed. A short message fits in one segment; longer messages are split and each part is billed separately. Segment size depends on the alphabet: 160 characters in GSM-7 or 70 in Unicode (UCS-2).
In GSM-7, up to 160 characters is 1 segment. Beyond that, capacity drops to 153 per part, because each part reserves room for the header that reassembles the message on the handset. In Unicode the limit is 70 for a single message and 67 per part when there is more than one. So 161 GSM-7 characters already cost 2 segments, not 1.
A single character outside the GSM-7 alphabet turns the entire message into Unicode and cuts capacity from 160 to 70. For Brazilian Portuguese this happens constantly, because these accents are OUTSIDE GSM-7: á, ã, â, ç, ê, ô, õ, í, ó, ú. These are inside and cost nothing extra: é, à, ü, ñ, uppercase Ç. Emoji also forces Unicode, and composed emoji may count as 2 units each.
Check before sending. Under 70 characters, accents change nothing — write proper Portuguese. Above 70, each out-of-GSM-7 accent can cost a full extra segment per recipient: across 10,000 contacts that doubles the invoice. Shortening links and dropping the greeting usually solves it without stripping accents.
Billing is per segment, not per message: a 2-segment send consumes 2 credits per recipient. The calculation follows GSM 03.38 and is identical in the on-site counter and in the backend that debits credit — an automated test keeps the two from ever diverging. Every message consumes at least 1 segment. Check yours at /contador-de-sms before sending.
Either the text passed 160 GSM-7 characters (capacity then drops to 153 per part), or it contains a character outside GSM-7 — an ã, ç or á — and capacity fell to 70. The second cause is the common one in Portuguese and the one that surprises people.
Only above 70 characters. Below that the cost is identical with or without accents, and correct text reads better. Above it, every extra segment is multiplied by the whole list.
No. Emoji forces the message into Unicode (70-character limit) and, depending on the emoji, consumes 2 units instead of 1.
Use the counter at /contador-de-sms. It applies exactly the same rule as billing, so the number it shows is the number that will be charged.
No credit card. No monthly fee. Credits never expire.
Create free account