What is the SMS character limit?
One SMS holds 160 characters if it uses only standard characters, and 70 if it has even one character outside that set, such as Hindi, an emoji or the ₹ sign. A longer message is sent in parts that are joined again on the phone. Each part holds 153 standard characters or 67 Unicode ones, and each part is billed as one SMS.
| Your SMS uses | One SMS holds | Each part of a long SMS holds |
|---|---|---|
| Only standard characters (GSM-7): English letters, numbers, common punctuation | 160 characters | 153 characters |
| Any other character (Unicode): Hindi, emoji, the rupee sign, curly quotes | 70 characters | 67 characters |
The same limits apply in India. Every Indian operator uses them, and DLT rules don't change the count. What changes the count is the characters you use, which is why this counter shows the encoding next to the length.
How to use the SMS counter
- Paste your SMS into the box, or click Try a DLT sample.
- Read the four numbers: SMS characters (counted the way the network counts them), SMS parts, characters left in this part, and the encoding.
- Look at How it splits. It shows the text of each part, with the characters that force Unicode marked in orange and the ones that take two places marked in blue.
- If a warning says the SMS switched to Unicode, click Swap them to replace ₹, curly quotes and dashes with plain versions.
- If the text has DLT tags like
{#numeric#}or CRM merge tags like{{first_name}}, type a real sample value in each slot. The count uses those values, because that is what gets sent. - Open What this costs per send, add your rate per SMS and the number of people, and see the bill before you send.
I set up SMS as part of CRM for D2C brands and consumer apps, and the length check is the step most teams skip. A template that reads fine in a sheet can bill as two or three SMS once a ₹ sign or a long order ID goes in.
Why an SMS is limited to 160 characters
The original GSM standard gave one SMS 140 bytes. Standard SMS characters use 7 bits each, so 140 bytes hold 160 of them. Unicode characters use 16 bits each, so the same 140 bytes hold 70. Twilio's explainer walks through the maths.
Long messages need room for a small header that tells the phone how to join the parts. That header takes the space of 7 standard characters or 3 Unicode ones, which is why each part of a long SMS holds 153 or 67, not 160 or 70.
Characters that switch your SMS to Unicode
One non-standard character switches the whole message, not just that character. Telnyx's documentation puts it plainly: capacity drops from 160 to 70 characters a part. These are the characters that do it most often in Indian marketing SMS:
| Character | Where it sneaks in | Swap it for |
|---|---|---|
| ₹ (rupee sign) | Prices copied from your store or a design file | Rs |
| ’ ‘ “ ” (curly quotes) | Text written in Google Docs, Word or Notion | ' and " |
| – and — (long dashes) | The same editors, which turn hyphens into dashes | - |
| … (one-character ellipsis) | Phones and editors that join three dots | ... |
| Non-breaking space | Copying from a web page or a spreadsheet. It looks like a normal space | A normal space |
| • and × | Bullet lists and "2×" offers | - and x |
| Emoji | Promotional copy | Nothing, if cost matters. Most emoji also take two places |
Here is what that costs. "Your BRANDX order of ₹1,499 has shipped. Track it here:" with a short link and the brand name is 91 characters. With the ₹ sign it is Unicode and bills as 2 SMS. Write Rs instead and it is one SMS with 67 characters to spare. At 1,00,000 orders a month, that one character doubles the SMS bill for shipping updates.
A few standard characters cost double instead. The caret, curly and square brackets, backslash, tilde, the vertical bar and the euro sign come from an extended set and take two places each. The counter counts them that way and tells you when it finds one.
Hindi and regional language SMS character limit
A Hindi SMS holds 70 characters in one SMS and 67 in each part of a longer one, the same as any Unicode message. The catch is what counts as a character. Each vowel sign (matra) and each halant is a separate character, so "ऑर्डर" looks like three letters but counts as five. A Hindi message that seems short is often two or three parts.
Hinglish written in English letters ("Aapka order ship ho gaya hai") stays in the standard set and gets the full 160. If you send in Hindi script, budget for 70 and test the real text here before you register the template.
The same applies to every Indian script: Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Odia and Urdu all send as Unicode, at 70 characters in one SMS and 67 per part. The counter groups them into one warning instead of listing every letter.
Long SMS: how a message is split into parts
A long SMS (also called a concatenated or multipart SMS) is sent as separate parts and shown as one message on the phone. Parts never split a character: an emoji or an extended character that doesn't fit moves whole to the next part, so a part can hold a little less than 153 or 67. The counter splits the text the same way.
| Message length | Standard (GSM-7) parts | Unicode parts |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 70 | 1 | 1 |
| 71 to 134 | 1 | 2 |
| 135 to 160 | 1 | 3 |
| 161 to 201 | 2 | 3 |
| 202 to 306 | 2 | 4 or 5 |
| 307 to 459 | 3 | 5 to 7 |
The Unicode column assumes one place per character. Emoji take two, so they fill parts faster.
You can't raise the limit itself. To send more than 160 characters, either let the message go as a long SMS and pay for each part, or shorten it: cut greetings, use a short link, and move the detail to the page the link opens.
DLT templates and SMS length
In India every business SMS has to match a DLT template registered on an operator's portal. Since TRAI's direction of 18 November 2025, every variable in a template uses a typed tag. The counter checks these and counts each slot at a realistic length:
| Tag | What goes in it | The counter assumes, if you leave the sample empty |
|---|---|---|
{#numeric#} | Digits only: OTPs, amounts | 6 characters |
{#alphanumeric#} | Names, order IDs. Up to 40 characters | 40 characters |
{#url#} | A whitelisted link | 30 characters |
{#urlott#} | A whitelisted app link | 30 characters |
{#cbn#} | A whitelisted callback number | 12 characters |
{#email#} | An email address | 30 characters |
It also flags the old {#var#} format, more than three variables, two variables side by side, and fixed text under 30% of the message, which TRAI's May 2023 direction sets as the minimum when a template has more than three variables. For the full rules and samples, see my guide to SMS DLT templates, and for getting registered in the first place, DLT registration.
What a long SMS costs
Providers bill each part as one SMS. So the price per message is your rate per SMS times the number of parts, and the counter does that sum. Say your rate is ₹0.20 per SMS and you send to 50,000 people: a 1-part message costs ₹10,000, a 2-part one ₹20,000 and a 3-part one ₹30,000. Use the rate on your own invoice, since prices vary by provider, volume and route.
Three habits keep SMS to one part: write Rs, not ₹; paste from a plain text editor, not a doc; and keep a long product name out of {#alphanumeric#}.
Where SMS fits
SMS is the channel for OTPs, order updates and the people who don't open WhatsApp or email. For rich messages, WhatsApp usually works better: compare the two in WhatsApp, email and push statistics for India. To track clicks from SMS links in GA4, build them with the UTM builder, which keeps DLT tags like {#url#} intact.
Want SMS, WhatsApp and email working together on repeat orders? Book a free call and I'll look at your setup.
Sources: Twilio, SMS character limit; Telnyx, message encoding; TRAI direction of 18 November 2025 and direction of 12 May 2023. Checked 16 October 2026.
Questions about SMS length
How many characters can one SMS have?
160 characters if it uses only standard (GSM-7) characters, and 70 if it has any other character, such as Hindi, an emoji or the ₹ sign. Longer messages are split into parts of 153 or 67 characters.
What is the SMS character limit in India?
The same as everywhere: 160 standard characters or 70 Unicode characters per SMS. Indian business SMS also has to match a registered DLT template, but that doesn’t change the count.
How do I send an SMS longer than 160 characters?
Just send it. It goes as a long (concatenated) SMS in parts of 153 characters, joined on the phone, and each part is billed as one SMS. To keep it to one SMS, shorten the text and use a short link.
How many characters are in 2 SMS?
A 2-part SMS holds up to 306 standard characters (153 per part) or 134 Unicode characters (67 per part). Go one character over and it becomes 3 parts.
Is SMS still limited to 160 characters?
Yes, each SMS part still holds 160 standard characters or 70 Unicode ones. Phones join longer messages so they look like one, but the network sends and bills them as separate parts.
How can I send an SMS of more than 160 characters on Android?
Type it as usual. Android sends it as a long SMS in parts and joins them on the other phone. Some phones turn very long texts into MMS instead, which depends on the phone and its settings. Business SMS from a provider always goes as parts.
Can I increase my SMS character limit?
No. The limit is part of the SMS standard. You can send a longer message in parts, or keep it in the standard character set so each SMS holds 160 instead of 70.
Why is an SMS limited to 160 characters?
The GSM standard gives one SMS 140 bytes. Standard characters use 7 bits each, so 140 bytes hold 160 of them. Unicode characters use 16 bits, so the same space holds 70.
Do spaces count as characters in an SMS?
Yes. Spaces, line breaks and punctuation all count. A non-breaking space copied from a web page also switches the whole SMS to Unicode.
How many characters is a Hindi SMS?
70 characters in one SMS, and 67 per part in a longer one. Each matra and halant counts as its own character, so Hindi words use more characters than they seem to.
Does an emoji count as two characters in an SMS?
Most emoji take two of the 70 Unicode places, and one emoji switches the whole SMS to Unicode. A single emoji can turn a one-part SMS into a three-part one.
Why does the ₹ sign make my SMS longer?
The rupee sign isn’t in the standard SMS character set, so it switches the message to Unicode and cuts the limit from 160 to 70. Write Rs instead.
Is a 2-part SMS charged twice?
Yes. Providers bill each part as one SMS, so a 2-part message costs twice a 1-part one.
How are DLT variables counted?
At the length of the value actually sent, not the tag. Enter a sample value in each slot in the counter, or it assumes a typical length, such as 40 characters for {#alphanumeric#}.
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