How are SMS and MMS usage charges determined?

Updated: 04/17/2024

Question

How are SMS and MMS usage charges determined?

Applies To

  • 8x8 Work
  • SMS / MMS Messaging

Answer

Mobile Carriers bill SMS and MMS based on the number of segments (groups of characters) contained in a message.
The way segments are broken down depends on the character coding that is used when a message is sent. This can be impacted depending on the content of the message. We’ve broken down below on a high level how SMS/MMS is broken down in segments below:
Most messages are categorized as either SMS (Short Message Service) or MMS (Multimedia Message Service) when sent/received on a one-to-one basis. Any message that is sent/received in a one-to-many scenario like Group SMS/MMS is considered a MMS.
SMS Segmentation
  • SMS using standard GSM 7-bit is limited to 160 Characters for single segments and 153 for multiple segments. 
  • Emoji or special characters uses UCS-2 Encoding which are limited to 70 for single segments and 67 for multiple segments.
    • Special characters also include letters with tilts like é
MMS Segmentation 
  • MMS is any message that contacts some form of media type like photos, video, or audio files. 
  • MMS limited to 1600 Character
    • Group SMS/MMS are all considered MMS and follow MMS Segmentation
  • 1MB MMS Size limit (total for actual attachments size allocation may vary)

Examples

Sample Message
Message Type 
Encoding
Segments Limits
Billed Segments
Hi,I’m following up on your inquiry.
Alphanumeric SMS
GSM-7
160
1
Thank you for calling ABC Inc, we have received your inquiry and are processing it now. This will take 5-7 business days. 
If you need additional assistance please respond with Help. Please respond STOP if you would like to stop receiving messages from ABC Inc.
Alphanumeric SMS
GSM-7
153
2, (total count is 262)
👋, just following up on you inquiry.
SMS with Emoji
UCS-2
70
1
👋, just following up on you inquiry. If you need additional assistance please respond with Help. Please respond STOP if you would like to stop receiving messages from ABC Inc.
SMS with Emoji
UCS-2
67
3, (total count as 175)
Hola, cómo estás?
Unicode
UCS-2
70
1
¿Hola, cómo estás? Por favor responda si desea información adicional sobre su consulta.
Unicode
UCS-2
67
2, (total as 87)
 
Billing Segment Breakdown
Message Type
Character Limit
Billed Segment
Alphanumeric SMS (GSM-7)
1-160
1
Multi Segment Alphanumeric SMS (GSM-7)
161-306
2
SMS with Emoji or special characters (UCS-2)
1-70
1
Multiple SMS with Emoji or special characters (UCS-2)
71-134
2
MMS with Attachment (image, audio/video, document files)
1-1600
1
MMS with Attachment and Emojis or Special Characters (image, audio/video, document files)
1-1600
1
Group SMS/MMS
1-1600
1 (MMS Rate) per recipient
Group SMS/MMS with Attachment and Emojis or Special Characters (image, audio/video, document files)
1-1600
1 (MMS Rate) per recipient