How to Calculate SMS and MMS Costs in Sparkforge

By Sparkforge Support Team ·Last reviewed May 3, 2026

An SMS in Sparkforge is billed per 160-character segment plus a carrier fee per segment. Emojis switch the message to Unicode and drop the segment limit to 70 characters, raising the cost.

SMS and MMS costs in Sparkforge depend on segment count, destination country, direction, message type, and carrier fees. The math is straightforward once you know what a segment is.

What Is an SMS Segment?

A segment is the unit SMS providers bill on. Standard GSM-7 encoding fits 160 characters per segment. Anything that pushes the message past 160 characters splits it into multiple segments — each one billed separately.

160 characters = 1 segment
161 characters = 2 segments
320 characters = 2 segments
321 characters = 3 segments

Emojis and Unicode

A single emoji forces the entire message into Unicode (UCS-2) encoding. Unicode caps each segment at 70 characters instead of 160. One emoji can more than double the cost of a long message.

Outbound SMS Cost Equation

Cost = (Segments × Per-Segment Rate) + (Segments × Carrier Fee)

Carrier fees in the US run roughly $0.005 per segment. Per-segment rates vary by destination country — review the Sparkforge Phone pricing table for your sending region.

Estimate the Cost in Four Steps

Count segments. Paste the message into the Messaging Segment Calculator.
Look up the per-segment rate for the destination country.
Add the carrier fee per segment.
Multiply by segment count and sum.

Worked Example

A 200-character US-to-US message with no emojis splits into 2 segments. At $0.0079 per segment plus $0.005 carrier fee:

(2 × 0.0079) + (2 × 0.005) = 0.0258 ≈ $0.026 per send

Send that to 1,000 contacts and the campaign costs about $26.

MMS Pricing

MMS is priced as a single unit per message regardless of length, but the per-message rate is higher than SMS and varies by country. Adding an image converts a 160-character SMS into an MMS — useful for engagement, more expensive per send.

Inbound vs. Outbound

Inbound SMS and MMS are billed separately at lower rates. They still incur carrier fees per segment.

Charges on Failed Sends

Once Sparkforge Phone hands a message to the carrier, you are charged whether or not it delivers. That includes toll-free numbers, A2P numbers, and country-restricted destinations. Internal Sparkforge errors that prevent the handoff are not charged. Refunds are not issued for undelivered SMS — review messages before sending.

Reduce SMS Costs

Stay under 160 characters per send when possible.
Skip emojis on long messages — they trigger Unicode and cut the segment limit to 70.
Trim auto-inserted footers and unsubscribe text where compliant.
Use SMS for short transactional sends, email for long-form.
Segment audiences so each send is relevant — deliverability and ROI both improve.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many characters are in one SMS segment?

160 characters with standard GSM-7 encoding. Add a single emoji and the message switches to Unicode, dropping the segment to 70 characters.

Do I pay for SMS that fail to deliver?

Yes, once the message is handed to the carrier. Sparkforge does not refund undelivered SMS, including toll-free, A2P, and country-restricted sends.

Why did one emoji double my SMS cost?

Emojis force Unicode encoding, which limits each segment to 70 characters instead of 160. A 100-character message becomes 2 segments instead of 1.

Are inbound SMS billed?

Yes, but at a lower per-segment rate than outbound. Carrier fees still apply per segment.

Is MMS more expensive than SMS?

Yes. MMS is billed as a single unit per message at a higher rate than a single SMS segment, but it does not split into multiple segments based on length.