How does Bonzo know how many segments my message is?
Please note, the segment count and their respective character lengths are determined by the carriers and are not generated by Bonzo. We just want you to be as informed as possible when creating your outreach.
For a standard SMS message, using no special characters and no emojis, the SMS message will be sent using GSM-7 Character Encoding. These messages allow up to 160 characters per segment.
However, if the SMS contains any special characters (e.g., ñ, ö, —) or emojis (😃), it must be sent using UCS-2 encoding. Messages with one or more UCS-2 characters can contain up to only 70 characters per segment, which can drastically change the number of segments used per SMS message.
Note: adding any special characters or emojis decreases the overall characters that can be sent per SMS message.
Let’s Look at an Example!
The below message is 143 characters in total -
Hi there, welcome to Bonzo! With our platform, advisors and agents can earn more (and work less) with automated follow-up that gets attention.
To send this without any special characters or emojis would be just one segment since it falls below the 160 character limit. However, adding even one emoji -
Hi there, welcome to Bonzo! With our platform, advisors and agents can earn more (and work less) with automated follow-up that gets attention 😃
This bumps the segment count from one to three. Why is that? Adding an emoji necessitates a different encoding, UCS-2, where segments are limited to 70 characters instead of 160. Consequently, our 143-character message is split into three separate segments to ensure proper receipt by the recipient.
Adding an emoji will not always add to the number of segments, it depends entirely on the length of the message.
As always, please reach out to our Support team with any additional questions you might have in regards to message segments. Just click on the pink bubble in the lower left hand corner of your Bonzo account.
Segment Limits by Encoding
| Segments | GSM-7 (Standard) | UCS-2 (Unicode) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Up to 160 characters | Up to 70 characters |
| 2 | Up to 306 characters | Up to 134 characters |
| 3 | Up to 459 characters | Up to 201 characters |
Understanding how messaging segments are calculated allows you to craft more efficient and cost-effective broadcasts and campaign SMS messages. By knowing the impact of special characters and emojis on segment count, you can better manage your messaging strategy, ensuring your communications reach your audience effectively without unnecessary costs.
Note: To learn more about Tokens, click on the link below:
Tokens: General Overview