> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.withallo.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# SMS rates

> What a text message costs on Allo: how segments are counted, the per-segment rate for each country, and what is never billed.

Carriers do not bill text messages, they bill **segments**. Most messages are one segment, which is why a text usually costs exactly the published rate. The ones that cost more got there by accident, almost always because of a single character.

<Info>
  Want to check a specific message? Paste it into the calculator on the [SMS pricing page](https://www.withallo.com/page/en/sms-pricing) and it will show you the split, the alphabet it uses, and the cost.
</Info>

***

## How a segment is counted

A segment is a fixed amount of room. How much room depends on which alphabet your message needs.

| Alphabet         | Room in a single-segment message | Room per segment once split |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------- | --------------------------- |
| Standard (GSM-7) | 160 characters                   | 153 characters              |
| Unicode (UCS-2)  | 70 characters                    | 67 characters               |

Two things follow from that table, and they explain nearly every surprising SMS bill.

**A message longer than one segment holds less per segment.** When a message is split, part of every segment carries the header that lets the handset reassemble them. So a 320-character message is 3 segments, not 2.

**One character outside the standard alphabet converts the whole message.** Not the character, the whole message. A 90-character text that would have been one segment becomes two the moment you add an emoji.

### Which characters are free, and which are not

This is the part that catches French and Spanish senders out. The standard SMS alphabet is not "letters without accents", it is a specific list.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="In the standard alphabet, no extra cost">
    **Letters:** é è à ù ì ò ä ö ü ñ å ø æ ß Ç É Ä Ö Ñ Ü Å Ø Æ

    **Punctuation and symbols:** the straight apostrophe `'`, the straight quote `"`, ¡ ¿ § £ \$ ¥ ¤ and every character on a plain English keyboard.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Not in the standard alphabet, converts the whole message to Unicode">
    **Letters:** ç ê â î ô û ë ï á í ó ú ã õ ā œ and every other accented letter not listed above.

    **Punctuation:** the curly apostrophe `’` and curly quotes `“ ”`, which phone keyboards and word processors insert automatically in place of the straight ones.

    **Every emoji.**
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="In the standard alphabet, but counts as two characters">
    `^` `{` `}` `\` `[` `]` `~` `|` and `€`. These sit in an extension table, so each one uses two characters of room instead of one.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Tip>
  In French, `confirmé` costs nothing extra and `ça marche` doubles the price of the message. In Spanish, `ñ` and `ü` are free but `á í ó ú` are not, so most Spanish messages run on the 70-character limit.
</Tip>

***

## Rates by country

All rates are in US dollars, per segment, and cover the country your Allo number is in.

|                           | France        | United States      | Canada             | United Kingdom | Belgium       |
| ------------------------- | ------------- | ------------------ | ------------------ | -------------- | ------------- |
| **You send it yourself**  | \$0.05        | Included           | Included           | \$0.055        | \$0.15        |
| **Allo sends it for you** | \$0.06        | \$0.01             | \$0.01             | \$0.055        | \$0.15        |
| **MMS (photos, files)**   | Not available | \$0.03 per message | \$0.03 per message | Not available  | Not available |
| **Texts you receive**     | Free          | Free               | Free               | Free           | Free          |

**"Allo sends it for you"** covers automatic replies after a missed call, workflows, the API and the MCP. The rate is the same whichever one triggered the message.

**In the United States and Canada**, texts you type yourself are included, subject to fair use of **500 segments per seat, per month**. That is well above a normal month. Only automated messages are metered.

**MMS is priced per message, not per segment**, and it works only on US and Canadian numbers once 10DLC is approved. Keep attachments under 1 MB: most carriers reject anything larger. French, British and Belgian numbers cannot send or receive MMS, because telecom regulation blocks it on virtual numbers. That is industry-wide and not specific to Allo.

<Note>
  Swiss numbers on Allo are landline numbers. A landline cannot carry text messages, so SMS is not available on them.
</Note>

***

## What is never billed

* **Texts you receive**, in every country and on every plan, including replies from your customers
* **A message that fails.** If it does not reach the network, nothing is charged for it
* **Domestic calling**, which is unrelated to SMS and included in your plan

***

## Before you can send

Two countries ask for a one-time registration before a number can text: **10DLC** in the United States and Canada, a one-off \$24 for the whole company, and a **Sender ID** in France, free, for automated messages only. The United Kingdom and Belgium ask for nothing.

<Card title="Set up texting" icon="https://mintcdn.com/themobilefirstcompany/FJcAb4CMTxxLuBRC/media/allo-icons/Chat_bubble_add.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=FJcAb4CMTxxLuBRC&q=85&s=fd6ae2c8855402174da90ec08749e91b" href="/en/phone-numbers/sms-setup" width="24" height="24" data-path="media/allo-icons/Chat_bubble_add.svg">
  The steps, the fees and the approval times, per country
</Card>

<Note>
  Sending texts requires the **Business plan**. Every plan receives them, and receiving is always free.
</Note>

***

## Texting a number in another country

Not available today. A text goes to a number in the same country as your Allo number, so a French number texts French numbers and a US number texts US numbers.

If you need to reach a number abroad, [contact support](/en/support/contact) and we will tell you where that stands for your account.

***

## Keeping the cost down

Four edits account for most unexpectedly expensive messages.

| What you added         | What it does                                                                                                                     |
| ---------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **One emoji**          | Converts the whole message to Unicode, so the limit drops from 160 characters to 70. Two characters added, twice the price.      |
| **A curly apostrophe** | Phone keyboards and word processors turn `'` into `’` automatically. Identical length, twice the price.                          |
| **A tracking link**    | A link is characters like any other. A 60-character URL on a 110-character message opens a second segment.                       |
| **An opt-out line**    | Marketing texts need one and it counts like everything else. On a message already near the limit, it buys a whole extra segment. |

<Tip>
  Templates and automatic replies are where this compounds. A single emoji in a template used a thousand times a month doubles the cost of a thousand messages, not one.
</Tip>

***

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why is my 90-character message two segments?">
    Because one character in it is not in the standard SMS alphabet. A single emoji, a curly apostrophe or a letter like ç or ê switches the whole message to Unicode, where a segment holds 70 characters instead of 160.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does an automated text cost more than one I type myself?">
    In France, slightly: \$0.06 per segment instead of \$0.05, because operators route automated messages separately. In the United States and Canada, texts you type yourself are included and only automated messages are metered, at \$0.01 per segment. In the United Kingdom and Belgium the rate is identical either way.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is a message counted per recipient?">
    Yes. Sending the same 2-segment message to 50 contacts is 100 segments.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Where do I see what I have used?">
    Admins can review usage in **Settings > Billing**. Only workspace admins can see it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do I need the Business plan to send texts?">
    Yes. Sending requires the Business plan. Every plan receives texts, so a Solo line still gets everything a customer sends.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="My texts are not sending at all">
    That is usually compliance registration rather than cost. Work through [SMS troubleshooting](/en/phone-numbers/sms-troubleshooting).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Set up texting" icon="https://mintcdn.com/themobilefirstcompany/FJcAb4CMTxxLuBRC/media/allo-icons/Chat_bubble_add.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=FJcAb4CMTxxLuBRC&q=85&s=fd6ae2c8855402174da90ec08749e91b" href="/en/phone-numbers/sms-setup" width="24" height="24" data-path="media/allo-icons/Chat_bubble_add.svg">
    10DLC, Sender ID, and how long each takes
  </Card>

  <Card title="SMS & messaging" icon="https://mintcdn.com/themobilefirstcompany/yN5XCm7zDDPr0-yn/media/allo-icons/chat-bubble.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=yN5XCm7zDDPr0-yn&q=85&s=d1817ba8f8b3a0d440cf67199eb899cd" href="/en/phone-numbers/sms-overview" width="24" height="24" data-path="media/allo-icons/chat-bubble.svg">
    What texting does, and what works in each country
  </Card>

  <Card title="SMS troubleshooting" icon="https://mintcdn.com/themobilefirstcompany/RgYoir1kmfhXIZ06/media/allo-icons/Shield-warning-outline.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=RgYoir1kmfhXIZ06&q=85&s=d75aff6f82a1ada69c2c7605a9078292" href="/en/phone-numbers/sms-troubleshooting" width="24" height="24" data-path="media/allo-icons/Shield-warning-outline.svg">
    Texts that will not send, or come back failed
  </Card>

  <Card title="International calling" icon="https://mintcdn.com/themobilefirstcompany/RgYoir1kmfhXIZ06/media/allo-icons/Globe.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=RgYoir1kmfhXIZ06&q=85&s=45870a5ce07e9da6c85818cfc67ea2d3" href="/en/billing/international-calling-rates" width="24" height="24" data-path="media/allo-icons/Globe.svg">
    Per-minute rates and how calls are billed
  </Card>
</CardGroup>