The length of the SMS is calculated as per the table below:
GSM 7 Bit Alphabet
No. of Characters in SMS Content | No. of SMS Considered |
160 Characters (Standard SMS) | 1 SMS |
306 Characters (Multi-part SMS)
(2 *153 characters) | 2 SMS |
453 Characters (Multi-part SMS)
(3 *153 characters) | 3 SMS |
612 Characters (Multi-part SMS)
(4 *153 characters) | 4 SMS |
765 Characters (Multi-part SMS)
(5 *153 characters) | 5 SMS |
918 Characters (Multi-part SMS)
(6 * 153 characters) | 6 SMS |
1071 Characters (Multi-part SMS)
(7 *153 characters) | 7 SMS |
Unicode SMS Length Calculation (Language other than English)
No. of Characters in SMS Content | No. of SMS Considered |
70 Characters (Standard SMS) | 1 SMS |
134 Characters (Multi-part SMS)
(2 * 67 characters) | 2 SMS |
201 Characters (Multi-part SMS)
(3 * 67 characters) | 3 SMS |
268 Characters (Multi-part SMS)
(4 * 67 characters) | 4 SMS |
335 Characters (Multi-part SMS)
(5 *67 characters) | 5 SMS |
402 Characters (Multi-part SMS)
(6 * 67 characters) | 6 SMS |
469 Characters (Multi-part SMS)
(7 *67 characters) | 7 SMS |
Standard SMS of 1 SMS credit is 160 characters long which includes spaces.
Multi-part SMS Message is defined when you use or send more than 160 characters SMS message. Though SMS are counted in multiples, but the SMS Message will be delivered as one single message to the Recipient’s Mobile.
While sending SMS, GSM 03.38 Character Set is used. GSM 03.38 character set characterizes GSM 7 bit alphabet with extension table and GSM 8 bit data encoding.
When sending SMS using non-GSM 03.38 characters, the SMS gets terminated as UNICODE Message. Even if you have a single non-GSM character, the whole message gets converted as unicode message.
Basic character set: GSM 7 bit alphabet:
@£$¥èéùìòÇ'Øø'ÅåΔ_ΦΓΛΩΠΨΣΘΞ'ÆæßÉ!"#¤%&'()*=,-./0123456789:;<=>?¡ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZÄÖÑÜ'¿abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzäöñüà
Extension table characters::
|^€{}[]~
The moment you use characters such as |^€{}[]~, then it will be considered as TWO Regular Characters
For Example: When you use “Hello [Sumit] ^_^” then the total characters used are 21 with 7 bit encoding.