Text reminders are one of the simplest ways to cut no-shows. A reminder the day before gives a client time to rebook if they can't make it.
If you pay for your texts, it helps to know that a single message on your client's phone can count as two or three texts on your bill. It depends on how long the message is and which characters it uses, so a short reminder can cost double because of one emoji, or even one apostrophe.
The short answer
A single text holds up to 160 characters, including spaces and punctuation. A longer message is split into several texts, and each one counts.
| Counts as | Standard text | With emoji or special characters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 text | up to 160 characters | up to 70 characters |
| 2 texts | 161 to 306 characters | 71 to 134 characters |
| 3 texts | 307 to 459 characters | 135 to 201 characters |
Why a split message holds 153 characters per text
The 160-character limit comes from how mobile networks were designed to carry text messages. When a message is longer, the network sends it as several texts and your client's phone joins them back together, so it still reads as one message.
To join them up, each text carries a small label saying which message it belongs to and where it goes in the order. The label uses 7 characters of every text, which leaves 153 for your words. That is why a 2-text message tops out at 306 characters rather than 320.
Emoji and special characters use up space faster
Standard texts use a basic character set: the English alphabet, numbers, common punctuation and a handful of accented letters such as é, è and ü.
If a message contains even one character outside that set, the whole message switches to a format that holds 70 characters in a single text, or 67 per text when split. Characters that cause the switch include:
- any emoji, such as 👋 or 😊
- "smart" or curly quotes and apostrophes: ’ “ ”
- some accented or non-English letters, such as ë, ł or ç
Some characters also take up more than one character's space. Most emoji count as 2 characters, emoji with a skin tone and flags count as 4, and combined emoji such as a family can count as 8 or more. Even in a standard text, the € sign and the symbols ^ { } [ ] ~ | \ each count as 2.
Examples
Here is a typical reminder. At 128 characters, it fits in 1 text:
Hi Samantha, just a reminder that your Full Head Colour and Cut with Bloom Hair Studio is tomorrow, Tuesday 14 October at 10:30.
Replace the comma with a wave emoji and the reminder becomes 2 texts, although it is only one character longer, because the emoji switches the whole message to the 70-character format:
Hi Samantha 👋 just a reminder that your Full Head Colour and Cut with Bloom Hair Studio is tomorrow, Tuesday 14 October at 10:30.
The client's name can do the same thing. Sent to Chloé, the reminder is still 1 text, because é is in the standard set. Sent to Zoë, it is 2 texts, because ë is not.
The curly apostrophe trap
These two messages look identical, and both are 136 characters long:
Hi Sam, just a reminder that your Gel Nails with Bloom Hair Studio is tomorrow, Tuesday 14 October at 10:30. Can't make it? Let us know.
Hi Sam, just a reminder that your Gel Nails with Bloom Hair Studio is tomorrow, Tuesday 14 October at 10:30. Can’t make it? Let us know.
The first has a straight apostrophe and counts as 1 text. The second has a curly apostrophe (’), which switches it to the 70-character format. At 136 characters it is over the 134 that fit in two texts, so it counts as 3.
Phones and word processors often turn a straight apostrophe into a curly one as you type. If you write reminder templates on an iPhone or paste them from a document, check them for curly apostrophes and quotes.
A longer reminder
Adding the address, the staff member's name and an instruction makes a more helpful message, but at 272 characters it counts as 2 texts:
Hi Samantha, a friendly reminder of your Full Head Colour and Cut with Jess at Bloom Hair Studio, 12 High Street, Anytown, tomorrow, Tuesday 14 October at 10:30am. Please arrive 10 minutes early and bring any inspiration photos. Need to change it? Call us on 01632 960000.
Cut down to the essentials, it fits in 1 text at 100 characters:
Bloom Hair Studio: see you tomorrow, Tue 14 Oct at 10:30, Samantha. To change it, call 01632 960000.
How to keep reminders to one text
- Start with what the client needs to know: your business name, the day and the time.
- Shorten dates and times. "Tue 14 Oct, 10:30" gives the same information as "Tuesday 14 October at 10:30am" in fewer characters.
- Leave out emoji. One emoji drops a single text from 160 characters to 70.
- Use straight quotes and apostrophes. Check templates for ’ “ ” and replace them with ' and ".
- Put aftercare, parking or preparation notes in a confirmation email, where length costs nothing.
- Count the characters before you save a template, and allow for each client's name and service changing the length.
What your client sees
On almost every modern phone, a split message arrives as one message, so your client never sees it in parts. The split shows up only in how many texts the message used, which is what you pay for.
Common questions
Do spaces count as characters?
Yes. Every space, full stop and line break counts.
Is it the same on every network?
Yes. The 160 and 70 character limits, and the 153 and 67 limits once a message is split, are standard across UK mobile networks and SMS providers.
Why does my message count as two texts when it is under 160 characters?
It almost always contains a character from outside the standard set, often a curly apostrophe, an emoji or an accented letter. That switches the whole message to the 70-character format.
Can I just avoid long messages?
For reminders, usually yes. Keep the text to the essentials and put anything longer in an email. The confirmation and reminder messages schdl.me sends are written to fit in a single text for most names and services.