Reach My Leads uses a credit-based system for all outbound and inbound messaging services, including SMS, MMS, RCS and iMessage. This document explains how credits are calculated and how different message types affect your usage.
Message Types
- SMS (Short Message Service): Text-only messages without media.
- MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service): Messages with attached files such as files, images, video, or audio.
- RCS (Rich Communication Services): Enhanced messages with media and interactive features (counted same as MMS).
- iMessage (Coming soon): iMessage is not currently available and credits have not been defined yet.
Credit Breakdown
Credits are deducted based on how your message is segmented by carriers. Each message segment consumes one credit. Special characters and emojis may cause your message to use Unicode (UCS-2) encoding, which reduces character limits.
SMS Message Segmentation (GSM-7 Encoding)
- 1 to 160 characters = 1 credit
- 161 to 306 characters = 2 credits
- 307 to 459 characters = 3 credits
Messages With Emojis or Special Characters (UCS-2 Encoding)
- 1 to 70 characters = 1 credit
- 71 to 134 characters = 2 credits
- 135 to 201 characters = 3 credits
MMS and RCS Messages
All MMS and RCS messages have a limit of 1,600 characters and are counted as three (3) credits per message, regardless of content size.
Common Special Characters That Affect Encoding
Characters such as – | ^ € { } [ ] ~ \ and line breaks (new lines) may cause messages to use UCS-2 encoding, which impacts the number of characters per segment.
Example Billing Chart
| Message Type | Character Range | Encoding | Credits Used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic SMS | 1 - 160 | GSM-7 | 1 |
| Basic SMS | 161 - 306 | GSM-7 | 2 |
| SMS with Emoji | 1 - 70 | UCS-2 | 1 |
| SMS with Emoji | 71 - 134 | UCS-2 | 2 |
| MMS / RCS | Up to 1,600 characters and/or media attached | N/A | 3 |
Billing for Overages
If you exceed your monthly messaging credit limit, you will automatically be billed for additional credits in bundles of 1,000 at your current plan’s add-on rate. You are responsible for monitoring your usage.
Recommendations
- Avoid emojis or special characters unless necessary.
- Keep messages short and concise to minimize credits used.
- Use media only when it adds meaningful value to your message.
Need Help?
If you have questions about how credits are calculated or how to manage your messaging volume efficiently, please contact our support team at support@reachmyleads.com.