WordBench reference
SMS character limit
The SMS single message, gsm-7 limit is 160 characters. The 160-character SMS is the most misquoted limit on the web, because it is only true for a specific character set.
Count your text against this limit
Counted in characters, the unit SMS actually uses, not in plain characters. Nothing you type here leaves your browser.
Nothing counted yet. The limit is 160 characters.
The other SMS fields
What happens when you go over
Nothing visibly breaks. The message is split into segments and each segment is billed separately, which is how a single message quietly becomes three.
One emoji, one curly quote or one accented letter outside GSM-7 switches the entire message to 16-bit UCS-2 and drops the limit from 160 to 70 characters, for the whole message and not just that character.
Every SMS limit, with its unit
| Field | Limit | Counted in | What people get wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single message, GSM-7 | 160 | characters | GSM-7 packs each character into 7 bits, and an SMS payload is 1,120 bits, which is where 160 comes from. |
| Single message, UCS-2 | 70 | characters | One emoji, curly quote or accented letter outside GSM-7 switches the whole message to 16-bit UCS-2 and drops the limit from 160 to 70. |
| Per segment, GSM-7 | 153 | characters | Past 160 characters the message is split and each part gives up 7 characters to a User Data Header that tells the handset how to reassemble it. |
| Per segment, UCS-2 | 67 | characters | Same header overhead, in 16-bit encoding: 70 drops to 67 per part. Each part is billed separately. |
Frequently asked questions
What is the SMS character limit? 160 characters for the single message, gsm-7, according to How long can a message be, Twilio docs. Checked on 23 July 2026.
What is the SMS character limit?
160 characters for the single message, gsm-7, according to How long can a message be, Twilio docs. Checked on 23 July 2026.
What happens if I go over the SMS limit?
Nothing visibly breaks. The message is split into segments and each segment is billed separately, which is how a single message quietly becomes three.
Does SMS count emoji differently?
SMS publishes its limit in plain characters, so an emoji costs the same as a letter in the field itself. How the emoji is stored underneath can still differ: see the methodology page for the four ways WordBench measures the same text.
Where does this number come from?
From How long can a message be, Twilio docs, linked in the sources section on this page. Nothing here is estimated or copied from another character counter, and every figure carries the date it was last checked.
Sources
The counting rules behind each unit, and why two character counters can disagree about the same sentence, are written out on the methodology page.