SMS segment counter: GSM-7 vs. Unicode
Texts are billed by segment. One curly quote or emoji switches a whole text to Unicode, which fits far fewer characters per segment. Paste a message to see what it costs, and what to change.
- Encoding
- UCS-2
- Characters
- 161
- Segments
- 3
- Left in this segment
- 40
Unicode (UCS-2): up to 70 characters in one segment, 67 per segment once it's longer. One character outside GSM-7 does this to the whole text.
Characters forcing Unicode
– (U+2013)Replace with -“ (U+201C)Replace with "” (U+201D)Replace with "
With plain characters: 2 segment(s), GSM-7
Hi [First Name], it's Acme Plumbing. Your visit is confirmed for Thursday at 10am - reply C to confirm or R to reschedule. "See you then!" Reply STOP to opt out.
How segments work
GSM-7 and Unicode
Twilio, which runs GoHighLevel's LC Phone, sends texts in GSM-7 when every character is in its set. One text holds 160 characters; longer texts split into segments of 153, because each carries a small header.
One character outside GSM-7, like a curly quote, an em dash or an emoji, switches the whole message to Unicode (UCS-2): 70 characters in one segment, 67 per segment when longer.
Characters that count double
A few GSM-7 characters need an escape character, so they count as two: the euro sign, square and curly brackets, the backslash, the caret, the tilde, the vertical bar and the form feed.
Toll-free numbers
Twilio says concatenated texts from toll-free numbers to the US and Canada carry 152 GSM-7 or 66 Unicode characters per segment.
Why it matters in GoHighLevel
HighLevel bills LC Phone texts by segment, and carrier fees are per segment too, so a Unicode text can cost two or three times a plain one.
Twilio has a Smart Encoding setting that swaps common look-alike characters for plain ones. HighLevel doesn't document whether LC Phone uses it, so this counter shows the plain version as a suggestion.
Common questions
- Why did my 140-character text use two segments?
- Something in it is outside GSM-7, often a curly quote or an emoji, which switches it to Unicode with 70 characters per segment.
- Does GoHighLevel bill per segment?
- Yes. HighLevel's cost article says SMS costs are based on the number of segments, and carrier fees are per segment too.
Related fixes
GoHighLevel SMS error 30007: why carriers filter your texts
The carrier blocked the text as likely spam. Usually a public link shortener, missing opt-out wording or weak consent.
Read the fixGoHighLevel: a contact isn't getting your texts
Usually DND is on for that contact, or they replied STOP. You can't override a STOP; they have to text START.
Read the fixA2P 10DLC campaign rejected in GoHighLevel: what to fix
The usual reasons: opt-in wording, a privacy policy that doesn't cover mobile data, sample messages, or the website.
Read the fix
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