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Last updated: October 8, 2026. A deal text can use more than one SMS segment after buyer names, property details, links and opt-out wording are added. Count the complete message for each recipient, then apply the customer rate you accepted for that send. This guide explains message quantities and estimates. It does not set a price, add a charge, enable MMS or promise delivery. Check the features available to your workspace and the applicable rate schedule. Messaging destinations are limited to the United States and Canada through eligible routes actually available to your workspace.

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1. One text can contain several SMS segments

An SMS segment is a unit of text transmitted over the messaging network. A longer text can be divided into several segments and displayed together on the recipient’s phone. One conversation bubble is therefore not proof of one billable segment, and a segment count is not a delivery receipt. Count the rendered message after merge fields are filled in, including sender identification, signature, links, spaces, line breaks and required opt-out wording. Different recipients can receive different lengths from the same template. A preview for one buyer does not establish the count for your whole list. Keep sender identification and required opt-out wording when shortening a message.

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2. Encoding changes the amount of text that fits

The characters in a message determine its encoding. Many ordinary letters, digits and punctuation marks fit GSM-7. Characters outside that alphabet can make the whole message use Unicode encoding, often labeled UCS-2 in SMS tools. These are common SMS capacities, measured in encoding units rather than visible characters: Multipart texts use some space for information that joins the parts together. Some routes use smaller capacities, including certain toll-free routes. The table is a common counting model, not a guarantee for every sender, route or destination. Most GSM-7 characters use one unit. Extension characters such as ^, {, }, [ and ] use two. A curly quotation mark can change the entire message to Unicode even when the rest is ordinary letters. Many emoji use two or more Unicode units; a single visible symbol can contain several code points. A visible-character count alone can therefore be misleading. Character boundaries can leave unused space in a multipart segment, so total-unit division alone is not always exact. Do not assume automatic emoji removal, punctuation replacement or encoding conversion. When editing, preserve meaning, accurate names and required disclosures.

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3. Illustrative segment counts

The examples below use the common capacities in §2, with no added signature, footer, link, route-specific restriction or text transformation. They illustrate quantities only; they are not live DispoIQ previews or prices. The last two examples show why replacing one punctuation mark or adding one emoji can matter. Recalculate after the final recipient details, signature and opt-out wording are included. If a preview displays encoding and segments, use it to check the text shown for that recipient. Review other personalized versions before budgeting for a list. Treat preview counts and text-based reports as estimates. A wallet reservation does not establish the final segment quantity or charge. If a count looks wrong or differs between screens, contact support@dispoiq.app with the available message reference and a description of the difference before repeating a paid send. Ask how to provide the relevant text securely if it contains personal information. Support can check the complete text, the counting basis and the route information available for that attempt; the common table does not override the actual sender or destination limits.

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4. Turn units into a budget using your accepted rate

Use the disclosed customer price for the actual channel, direction, destination and billable event. An underlying network charge is not necessarily your customer price. See Usage Pricing & Messaging Fees for the rate information to check. For an accepted flat rate of R per outbound SMS segment, these quantity examples give the segment-priced portion only:
  • 100 recipients receiving three segments each: 100 × 3 = 300 segments, costing 300 × R.
  • 60 recipients receiving one segment and 40 receiving two: 60 + 80 = 140 segments, costing 140 × R.
These formulas assume one outbound text per recipient with no minimums, rounding adjustments, tiers or fixed charges. Add separately disclosed applicable charges and taxes. Replies and later sends are outside these examples; R is not a selected price. Your accepted schedule may instead use a fixed charge, a combination of fixed and per-unit charges, or documented third-party cost plus an agreed markup. Use that accepted basis rather than applying the simple formula to every operation. A subscription price or wallet balance does not mean messaging is unlimited.

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5. A preview, a hold and a settled charge are different

Where a preview or counter is available, check the fully rendered text. Reports can also estimate segments from saved message bodies. These text-based counts do not by themselves prove final billable quantities or settled charges. A wallet reservation can reduce the funds available for other work before the outcome is resolved. A hold is not a final debit or a delivery guarantee. Final settlement uses the applicable accepted customer pricing basis and the required reliable evidence for the supported route. Missing or uncertain acceptance, quantity or required cost evidence remains pending; do not treat it as zero spend or repeat the request merely because a browser timed out. An accepted or recorded attempt that later fails or is undelivered may still incur an agreed charge. Failure alone does not create an automatic refund. Confirmed pre-acceptance refusal with no incurred spend may release the unincurred reservation. Verified billing-error corrections, applicable-law rights and refunds expressly owed under the agreement remain available. This guide adds no failed-message surcharge, retry fee or reconciliation deadline. For a questioned amount, ask support to distinguish the estimated count, reserved funds and any settled charge. Support logs the request, checks your authority for the workspace, and compares the accepted rate and billable unit with available send, quantity, cost and wallet evidence. It coordinates authorized billing or technical review of missing or uncertain evidence and explains the confirmed result or what remains unresolved. A delivered status, body-derived count or displayed hold alone is not proof that the final amount is correct. Funding, valid unpaid final charges and the applicable correction and refund conditions remain governed by your accepted agreement and the Usage Pricing & Messaging Fees guide; this review process creates no new charge, response deadline or automatic refund.

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6. Media messages need their own check

MMS is a separate message channel. Where an MMS feature is actually offered, check its supported sender and destination, attachment types and size limits, and accepted billable unit and price before using it. A long SMS does not automatically become an MMS, and an SMS segment counter does not price a picture message. A property-page link in an SMS remains text in that message; the link itself contributes to the SMS count. Including a link is not the same as attaching an image. This guide does not establish that an attachment workflow or particular MMS route is available to your workspace. Use only the channel and sending identity actually enabled for your workspace and eligible destination. If you cannot find an offered MMS sending option or its accepted unit and price, do not assume that adding media elsewhere in the app sends an MMS. Ask support@dispoiq.app to confirm whether a media-sending route is offered for your workspace and, if so, its attachment restrictions, sender and destination eligibility, and billing basis before using it. This guide supplies no MMS setup steps or media limits for an unoffered route.

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7. Before sending and when asking about a charge

Before sending, check the final text, permitted audience and accepted price. The Messaging & Communications Policy requires prior express written permission for customer-initiated SMS/MMS; its narrow recipient-initiated same-conversation response exception does not authorize a campaign. A saved number, paid lookup or registration approval is not consent. Follow suppression and opt-out requirements regardless of message length or cost. For a charge question, contact support@dispoiq.app with your workspace, approximate send time and available message or usage reference. Identify whether you are asking about a preview, pending hold or settled charge. Do not send passwords, payment credentials or an entire buyers list. This help guide does not itself incorporate another document into an existing agreement or change its charges, permissions or refund rights.