SMS Character Counter
Check how many SMS parts your message will use. Supports GSM-7 and Unicode encoding for Safaricom, Airtel & Telkom.
GSM-7: Standard characters — 160 chars for 1 part, 153 per part for multi-part.
Unicode: Special characters (emojis, accents) — 70 chars for 1 part, 67 per part for multi-part.
How SMS Character Counting Works in Kenya
When sending bulk SMS in Kenya via Safaricom, Airtel, or Telkom, your message length determines how many SMS parts (and therefore how much you pay). Understanding character limits helps you optimize costs.
GSM-7 Encoding (Standard)
Most English messages use GSM-7 encoding, which supports 128 characters including the Latin alphabet, numbers, and common punctuation. A single SMS can contain up to 160 characters. If your message exceeds 160 characters, it's split into multiple parts of 153 characters each (7 characters reserved for concatenation headers).
Unicode Encoding (Special Characters)
If your message contains characters outside the GSM-7 set (like emojis, Swahili special characters, or Arabic text), the entire message switches to Unicode encoding. This reduces the limit to 70 characters per single SMS, or 67 characters per part for multi-part messages.
Cost Optimization Tips
- Avoid smart quotes (“ ”) — use straight quotes instead
- Avoid emojis in bulk SMS to stay within GSM-7 limits
- Keep promotional messages concise — remember the opt-out suffix takes up space
- Use the SMS Cost Calculator to estimate campaign costs