SMS message parts
Why this matters
Messages are charged per part, not per message. A message that runs one character over the limit costs twice as much, and one emoji can triple the cost of a long message. ExcelSend shows the part count as you type and in the preview, so you can see it before you send.
What a part is
Phones send and receive SMS in small chunks called parts. A message too long for one part is split up, each part is sent separately, and the phone joins them back into one message.
How many characters fit in a part depends on the alphabet the message uses, and on whether it’s split:
| Alphabet | One-part message | Each part of a longer message |
|---|---|---|
| Standard alphabet (GSM) | 160 characters | 153 characters |
| Latin1 | 140 characters | 134 characters |
| Advanced alphabet (Unicode) | 70 characters | 67 characters |
In the standard alphabet, these characters count as two: € ^ { } [ ] \ ~ |.
Standard alphabet
This message is exactly 160 characters, so it goes as one part:
So here is a message that uses the standard character set for SMS text messaging. It is exactly 160 characters long so it will not need to be broken in to parts
Add a full stop and it’s 161 characters, so it goes as two parts: the first 153 characters, then the rest.
Advanced alphabet
Any character outside the standard alphabet, such as an emoji, many accented letters or a curly quote, switches the whole message to the advanced alphabet. Then only 70 characters fit in one part, and 67 in each part of a longer message.
Adding 🙂 to the 160-character message above makes it a three-part message, at three times the cost.
ExcelSend warns you with the Advanced alphabet alert and highlights the characters responsible.
Text pasted from Word, email or a web page often contains curly quotes, long dashes or invisible characters that switch the alphabet. Retype them, or check the alphabet shown under the message.
Things that add characters
- The opt-out link adds 17 characters.
- Merge fields are replaced by each row’s value, so each message’s length is different. The size line says “Approximately” and the preview shows each message’s exact size.