Unicode is a universal character encoding standard designed to help you send SMS messages in various non-English languages, reaching a broader audience seamlessly. Unlike the GSM-7 standard (used for English text), which supports 160 characters per SMS credit, Unicode uses UTF-8 encoding to assign a unique number to every character, including those from international scripts. This makes it compatible across browsers, devices, operating systems, and platforms, ensuring your messages display correctly worldwide. Check out Text Messages Chart guide.
A single Unicode character is a 4-byte entity, covering all non-English languages—think Hindi, Arabic, Chinese, or Spanish accents—along with special symbols and emojis. However, this expanded capability comes with a trade-off: a standard SMS credit in Unicode is limited to just 70 characters, compared to 160 in GSM-7.
Examples of Unicode Characters: #
- Non-English Scripts: Characters like “ह” (Hindi), “ش” (Arabic), or “ñ” (Spanish).
- Emojis: 😊👍 or 🌟—fun additions that enhance engagement.
- Special Symbols: ©, ™, or €—commonly used in branding or pricing.
- Hidden Characters: Invisible formatting marks (e.g., from copied text) also count as Unicode.
When crafting SMS campaigns on SMSGatewayCenter, keep in mind that using even one Unicode character shifts the entire message to Unicode encoding, reducing the character limit to 70. To maximize efficiency, stick to GSM-7 for English-only messages or test your content to ensure it fits within the desired credit limit. Ready to send multilingual SMS? Log in to our platform and explore the power of Unicode today!