How text messages are counted

Text messages (SMS) use the same plan minutes as your calls, so there is no separate messaging bill. Phone companies charge for texts by the segment, and they charge for texts you receive as well as texts you send. This article explains how segments work and how many minutes a text uses.

Which plans can text

Texts go to numbers in the same country as your number. For setup, see Text messaging.

What a segment is

Phone companies do not bill a text by the message. They bill it by the segment, a fixed block of characters.

A single emoji, a curly quote, or a letter outside the basic alphabet (such as ж or 你) switches the whole text to the smaller size. A 150-character text is one segment in plain characters. If you add one emoji, it becomes three segments.

When you write a text in Messages, the box below it shows the character count and the number of segments as you type.

Tip: Use straight quotes (' and ") instead of curly ones, and leave out emoji in reminders and confirmations. It often halves the number of segments.

How many minutes a segment uses

Each segment uses a small fraction of a plan minute. The fraction is the segment's price divided by your plan's price per extra minute. On most numbers, one segment uses about a tenth of a minute:

The exact figure for your number is shown in Messages: below the reply box while you write, and in the What it costs note. It can be higher on some numbers, because the price per segment depends on the phone company that provides the number.

Sent and received texts both count

A text that could not be sent is recorded in the conversation with the reason, for example "Not sent: no credit left for messages beyond the plan." It is not counted.

After your plan minutes are used

While your plan has minutes left, a text costs no credit. Once they are used, each segment is paid from your prepaid credit balance instead. The note below the reply box in Messages changes to show the price in cents.

If both your minutes and your credit are used up, texts stop being sent, and the assistant stops replying to texts until you add credit. See Prepaid credit and top-ups.

Where to see your text usage

• Billing shows the text segments sent and received this period and the minutes they used, under Minutes used this period.
• The usage report lists every text on its own line, as sent or received, with the minutes or credit it used. Choose Messages to see only messages.
• Call rates can estimate what a month of texting costs.

Common questions

Why did one text use three segments? It was longer than one segment, or it contained an emoji or special character that switched it to 70 characters per segment. Check the segment count below the reply box before you send.

Why am I charged for texts I did not send? Phone companies charge for received texts too, so every received segment is counted.

How often can the assistant reply to one person? The assistant replies to the same person at most six times an hour by text. This stops two automated systems from texting each other without end. After that, the assistant stops answering that person for the rest of the hour, and the conversation is marked high priority in your Inbox so someone on your team can reply.